Children in emergencies
We aim to support refugee and migrant children and their families in north-western Tanzania
Challenge
Tanzania hosts refugees from Burundi and Congo. They primarily live in three camps in the north-western part of the country. The country hosts the largest number of Burundian refugees in the Eastern and Southern African region, accounting for over 280,000 people. Fifty-seven per cent of the refugee population is under eighteen years of age, and more than 7,500 children are unaccompanied or were separated when they fled across the border seeking asylum.
Solution
Voluntary repatriation began in September 2017, and more than 57,000 refugees have been assisted to voluntarily return to Burundi with the support of the Ministry of Home Affairs, UNHCR, IOM and UNICEF. As of April 2018, UNICEF, in collaboration with partners in the Education Working Group, had enrolled 105,715 refugees in pre and primary school. Health, nutrition, water and sanitation and protection services are also provided by a multitude of partners including UNICEF.
UNICEF is working with partners to ensure a host of measures are deployed to protect refugees and provide them with access to key services. These include vaccinations, nutrition programmes and supplements, child protection, water purification kits and other sanitation services, education as well as capacity building for service providers in the camps and supporting local government oversight.