Burundi
© Jennifer Warren
International Activity Report, 2007
Despite a presidential decree in 2006 that guaranteed free healthcare for pregnant women and children under five years old, Burundi has one of the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Every year 1,000 women suffering from obstetric fistula as a result of a complicated delivery are reported to the Ministry of Health. MSF works to provide care for women before and during delivery. MSF also responds to health emergencies such as nutritional crises or natural disasters.
Lifesaving maternal care
In 2009, the MSF Centre for Obstetrical Emergencies in Kabezi assisted 2,300 women who were facing complications during pregnancy or delivery. The centre, which MSF constructed, has a capacity of 48 beds, a delivery room and an operating theatre. There is a 24-hour emergency service that can be used by the 20 community health centres in the region. The MSF team also provided treatment to 30 women with obstetric fistulas.
Treating sexual violence
In the capital Bujumbura, MSF handed over the Seruka Centre, which specialised in the treatment of victims of sexual violence, to a Burundi association known as Initiative Seruka pour les victimes de Viol (ISV). It was created in 2008 by staff working in the MSF centre. In the six years before the handover, the centre provided care for more than 7,800 victims of sexual violence.
Emergency response
Between February and June, MSF responded to a nutritional emergency in the northern province of Kirundo, where teams admitted more than 500 severely malnourished children to the centre in town. In addition, MSF provided support to therapeutic centres across the region and referred those needing further care to the hospital in Kirundo.
In March, when severe floods devastated several areas near the capital city Bujumbura, MSF ran mobile clinics and worked to improve hygiene conditions and access to clean water. Later in July and August, MSF responded to a cholera outbreak in several neighbourhoods of the capital, treating 90 patients.
Patient story
Mary, 30, is one of thousands of women who have received help at the MSF birth centre in Kabezi. Mary, already a mother of five, was hospitalised before giving birth because she was severely malnourished. Her daughter was born anaemic and underweight, and was vomiting a lot after the birth. However, bit by bit she started to improve, and Mary also began to feel better. Her lips regained colour and the swelling in her legs decreased. ‘If it wasn’t for MSF my children wouldn’t have a mother,’ she said.
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