GPI Rank
Political Instability
Safety & Security
Ongoing Conflict
Bujumbura, Burundi
Cordaid has been working in Burundi since the mid 90’s. We chiefly work in the areas of health care, resilience and security & justice. More specifically, we focus on sexual & reproductive health, maternal & infantile health, results based financing in the health sector, addressing and countering gender based violence, reinforcement of women and youth leadership, strengthening of civil society organizations and lobbying & advocacy.
Read more about Cordaid in BurundiIn Burundi Cordaid works at local, regional and national levels.
In the Mutaho Health District (Gitega province) we improve maternal and infantile health care. In Cibitoke, Makamba and Muyinga provinces we help preventing and raising awareness of sexual and gender-based violence. With our project ‘Niche’, we reinforce the capacities of three universities in Burundi (Burundi, Ngozi and Hope), where we develop training curricula for medical students, specifically for gender issues and sexual and reproductive health. We improve sexual and reproductive health of youth and teenagers in the following provinces: Bururi, Cankuzo, Karusi, Makamba, Muramvya, Mwaro, Rumonge and Rutana.
Finally, our nationwide Strategic Partnership program in Burundi aims to build strong civil society organizations, capable to advocate as a solid, durable network, and to engage in awareness raising and policy influencing.
Population
Rural population
Urban population
GDP growth
Mortality rate, neonatal
The political crisis of 2015 in Burundi, caused by the fact that the President of the Republic decided to run for a third unconstitutional mandate, is still not over. The ensuing political blockade pushed Western donors to establish strong sanctions, which increased the fragility of the economy, the lack of foreign exchange and the price of imported products. This situation further impoverishes an already poor population, in one of the most deprived countries of the world.
In Burundi, Cordaid is active in the fields of health care and security & justice.
In the health care sector, we are one of the leading organizations having introduced Results-Based Financing (RBF), a methodology that was soon adopted by the government in its national health policy. We are particularly focusing on the improvement of sexual and reproductive health care services and the struggle against sexual and gender-based violence.
Still, the fertility rate for each woman is close to 6 children. Therefore, we keep being strongly active in SRHR.
Next to that, Cordaid addresses the following challenges: maternal and infantile mortality (which is among the highest in Africa); chronic diseases through support to medical schools; cervical cancer through innovative treatment and prevention; sexual and gender-based violence through awareness raising and sensitization.
Some of our recent health care projects:
One of the main challenges of our security and justice program, considering the actual complex environment, is to make sure civil society has enough space to be alive and active and operate freely. Therefore, we strengthen capacities of civil society organizations that focus on issues of women and gender, access to justice, and youth related topics.
In Burundi, we have the following projects and programs:
Financed by Cordaid, the project aims to strengthen communities to become more resilient to disasters, prepared to deal with climate change, environmental degradation and the reduction of conflict risks. This project will help the population prepare for natural and man-made disasters and mitigate their impacts. To achieve this goal, it will use a Community Disaster Risk Reduction approach. In addition, four specific objectives are associated with the main objective:
Joint Program on Sexual and Reproductive Health
The Joint Program on Sexual and Reproductive Health for youth and teenagers is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, through its embassy in Burundi. We work in a consortium in collaboration with Care International, Rutgers and UNFPA.
Sexual and gender based violence project
Our project against sexual and gender based violence is funded by the World Bank, through the Ministry of Health of Burundi.
Maternal and infantile health project
The project on maternal and infantile health receives funds from UNICEF.
Niche project
For supporting Burundian medical education in universities as part of the Niche project, Cordaid is part of a consortium with CINOP and the Maastricht University. This consortium is funded by the government of the Netherlands (through Nuffic).
The Strategic Partnership program
The Strategic Partnership program on Lobbying and Advocacy is being implemented in collaboration with six Burundian associations: AFRABU, AFJO, ADISCO and REJA on women, youth, peace and employment issues; Bar Association and OAG for access to Justice. This ambitious project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Capacity-building Program
Cordaid is a member of a consortium with CINOP and the University of Maastricht for a five-year (2017-2021) capacity-building program for three Universities of Burundi: University of Burundi (leading the Consortium in Burundi), University of Ngozi and Hope University. The development of a new curriculum for the training of Burundian doctors will take into account the needs of communities with a focus on gender and reproductive health.
(© Full width image by Patrick Nicholson/Caritas. Second image by Wilco van Dijen).
