Burundi officially the Republic of Burundi is a landlocked country (a sovereign state entirely enclosed by land) in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. It is also considered part of Central Africa. Burundi’s capital is Bujumbura. The southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.
Due to a prolonged civil war between 1993 and 2006, Burundi has experienced very slow development and is plagued by poor health outcomes, a failing education system and weak infrastructure.
Demography Statistics
| Population | 12,889,576 as of August 2022 |
| Sex Ratio | 0.96 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 62.1%, Protestant 23.9% (includes Adventist 2.3% and other Protestant 21.6%), Muslim 2.5%, other 3.6%, unspecified 7.9% (2008 est.) |
| Languages | Kirundi 29.7% (official) |
| Literacy | 85.6% |
The Rural-Urban Dichotomy
Fig. 1: Population residing in Rural/Urban areas. (By %)
Burundi remains an overwhelmingly rural society, with just 13% of the population living in urban areas in 2021.
Economy
Burundi is a resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural, accounting for 50% of GDP. The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflation. Burundi will remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors – foreign aid represents 42% of Burundi’s national income, the second highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa. Studies since 2007 have shown Burundians to have extremely poor levels of satisfaction with life; the World Happiness Report 2018 rated them the world’s least happy in 2018. As a result of deep poverty, Burundi is dependent on foreign aid. Food insecurity is alarming, as Burundi ranks worst on the 2020 Global Hunger Index.
Connectivity
Bujumbura International Airport is the country’s primary airport any the country’s only airport with a paved runway. Flights are available to Burundi from India via Ethiopia.
Top 5 Corporates in Burundi
| Name | Industry | Sector | Headquarters | Established In |
| Air Burundi | Consumer services | Airlines | Bujumbura | 1971 |
| Bank of the Republic of Burundi | Financials | Banks | 1966 | |
| Brarudi | Consumer goods | Brewers | 1955 | |
| Burundi National Radio and Television | Consumer services | Broadcasting & entertainment | 1975 | |
| City Connexion Airlines | Consumer services | Airlines | 1998 |
Growth Plan of Burundi
The International Development Association (IDA) is supporting Burundi’s efforts to improve economic management, public sector performance, economic growth, agriculture, environmental protection, infrastructure, and electricity and health care services. current IDA commitments amount to $659 million under nine national projects ($414 million) and five regional projects ($245 million). The World Bank is focusing its efforts on providing economic opportunities to Burundians, as the engine of poverty reduction and an important basis for peace and stability.
Some Important Health Statistics
| Health expenditures | 7.99% of GDP (2019) | |
| Maternal mortality rate | 548 deaths/100,000 live births (2017) | |
| Infant mortality rate | 37.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2022) | |
| Birth rate | 36.9 births/1,000 population (2022) | |
| Death rate | 7.4 deaths/1,000 population (2022) | |
| Hospital bed density | 1.9 beds/1,000 population | |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 27.7 (2020) | |
Proportional Mortality in Burundi
Communicable Maternal, Perinatal & Nutritional Conditions are major causes of Mortality in Burundi followed by Injuries & Other NCDs (11% each), Cardiovascular Diseases 10% & rest of the causes are Respiratory diseases, Cancers & Diabetes etc.
Healthcare Scenario in Burundi
The health situation in Burundi remains relatively precarious. The crude mortality rate is 8 per 1000 (2020 Population Census). This situation is associated mainly with the fragility of the health system, the heavy burden of communicable diseases, chronic noncommunicable diseases, neglected tropical diseases, the vulnerability of mothers, children and adolescents, and the role of the determinants of health (demographic pressure owing to a density of more than 310 people per km2, and very high rates of acute and chronic malnutrition, 6% and 58% respectively, in children between 0-5).
There is poor geographical access to health centers as mountainous terrain of some areas in Burundi makes it difficult for people to access health facilities physically.
Healthcare Personnel in Burundi
| Community Health Workers (2004) | 657 |
| Physician per 1000 people (2017) | 0.1 |
| Dentists (2004) | 14 |
| Nurses & Midwives (2004) | 1348 |
Challenges in health sector of Burundi
- Lack of primary health package and adequate reference care in hospitals.
- Limited access to and use of health care services.
- Financial constraints limit access for the poorest section of the people to health services
- Deficiencies of the health system parallel the critical shortage of qualified staff
- Inadequate logistics
- Insufficient public funding
- Insufficient qualified personnel
- Lack of a vital registration system that captures, in a sustained and robust manner, population-level data on maternal mortality and trends.
Faced with only a small part of the national budget allocated to the health sector, the Ministry of Health had no other choice but to impose the burden of healthcare costs on the patient. The cost-recovery system means that the patient has to pay the full price for medicines as well as tests and medical consultations. The system has been applied in 12 of 17 rural provinces — covering 5 million people. In some areas non-governmental organizations (NGOs) subsidize essential care and user fees are lowered for some 750 000 people. Almost 1 million Burundians do not have access to health care. The average price for a basic consultation at a primary healthcare center under the cost-recovery system is around €=2–3. This is equivalent to about 12 days’ pay for a Burundian.
In Public sector, there are total 20 District Hospitals in Burundi.
| Major Medical Colleges in Burundi | |||
| Name | Location | Established in | Sector |
| Faculty of Medicine, University of Burundi | Bujumbura | 1964 | Government |
| Medical School, Ngozi University | Ngozi | 1999 | Private |
| Faculty of Health Sciences, Hope University of Africa | Bujumbura | 2003 | |
Major Public Hospitals
Prince Regent Charles Hospital, Bujumbura
The Prince Regent Hospital is one of the three biggest hospitals in the capital city of Bujumbura and it offers public healthcare services in various specialties. It is located in one of the more deprived areas of Bujumbura.
The Kamenge University Hospital Center (CHUK) – Burundi – 48 Beds
The CHUK is a multi-specialty public health institution that opened in 1984. It is located in the north-west of the capital and has since hosted opening the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Burundi.
Kibuye Hope Hospital – 85 Beds
KHH aims to serve the community around it and has already been designated as a regional medical center. It is also the main training hospital for Hope Africa University’s medical program and is the hospital of reference for 12 rural clinics.
Major Private Hospitals
Kira Hospital – 130 Beds
It is a multi-specialty hospital with 50 employees including 23 medical specialists and 6 general practitioners for a total of 14 functional services including for example an imaging service.
The Central Polyclinic Abobo (PCA) – 35 Beds
Established in 1996, The multi-specialty hospital has a capacity of 35 beds, a powerful block, an ambulance and various specialties.
REMA Hospital
This Hospital was founded and is managed by Maison Shalom. It was inaugurated on 22 January 2008. REMA Hospital has a catchment population of about 102,000 people.
Diagnostic Centers in Burundi
In Burundi, there are very few stand-alone Diagnostic & Lab facilities as majority of tests are carried out by in-house facilities of District hospitals & other major hospitals.
Conclusion
The healthcare system in Burundi is in very primary phase. The present health scenario, with high Infant & Maternal Mortality rate, Malnutrition, Communicable Diseases & very limited healthcare Human Resources is giving opportunity to private sector to come up with chain of primary health care centers or single specialty hospitals who can focus on these maladies & can provide quality treatment at affordable cost to the public.
