ssons-nous r les enfants unite for children

ANNUAL REPORT BURUNDI | 1

Annual report

BURUNDI 2010

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BURUNDI Annual report

ANNUAL REPORT BURUNDI | 1

CONTENTS Foreword

2

Highlights of 2010

3

Growing up in Burundi

4

Notable Achievements in Programmes Health and Nutrition Basic Education, Gender Equality and HIV Prevention Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Child Protection Communication for Development Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships for Child Rights

8 8 11 12 13 16

Way Forward Finances

18 20

© The United Nations Children’s Fund June 2011 Content and production by Tamara Sutila, Michael Bociurkiw and Petra Balenovic Stories by Michael Bociurkiw and Félicité Hatungimana Photos by Pawel Krzysiek, Michael Bociurkiw, Félicité Hatungimana and Anne Isabelle Leclercq

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Foreword 2010 was a pivotal year for both Burundi and UNICEF. The country stood at a crossroads, eager to leave its troubled past behind yet vulnerable to the pull of political forces and external shocks that could destabilise the country. Agencies, including UNICEF, believe this sensitive time is ripe to re-affirm their commitment to Burundi and work even harder for children and women. As the world’s most influential children’s agency, we are well-positioned to help ensure that children and women are protected from harm and can grow into healthy and productive adults. Burundi’s next generation of mothers, fathers, teachers, doctors, farmers and leaders are the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, disease and violence that has defined Burundi for the last four decades. In 2010, UNICEF and the Government of Burundi launched the first five-year programme of cooperation since 1993. This shift from operating in a protracted emergency to taking a long-term vision for Burundi’s economic and social development is an important milestone for us all. It enables UNICEF to contribute towards reducing poverty and disparity by focusing its resources and expertise on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and women. The new country programme therefore concentrates on five provinces that are home to nearly half of the population and three of which have the worst indices related to women and children. At the same time, we continue support to our partners at the national level to create a conducive policy and legal environment for children’s rights. We thank the Government of Burundi, our partners and donors for all their support to date. We look forward to extending the dream of creating a ‘World Fit for Children’ to every corner of this beautiful country.

Souleymane Diabate Acting UNICEF Representative in Burundi

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Highlights of 2010 In health and nutrition About 93 per cent of children between one and two years were immunised against potentially deadly yet vaccine-preventable diseases while the Child Health Days campaign delivered Vitamin A and deworming medication to 85.9 per cent and 85 percent of children aged 6–59 months respectively. UNICEF plays a critical role in combating acute malnutrition, and in 2010 the organisation helped Burundi update protocols, develop tools and scale up community-based therapeutic care. Additionally, UNICEF supported the Ministry of Health to scale up prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and paediatric AIDS services.

In basic education More than 174,000 school children in 310 primary schools benefitted from child-friendly school interventions while the Back-to-School campaign enrolled more than 15,500 out-of-school children and 45,600 over-age children. UNICEF supported the government to develop policies and strategies on HIV and AIDS in education, profile teacher competency and promote gender equality in education.

In water, sanitation and hygiene Around 60,000 people in under-served areas and peace villages, 6,800 children in 13 primary schools and 10 health centres gained access to safe drinking water in 2010. By piloting the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach, UNICEF helped to increase access to improved sanitation in 11 provinces.

In child protection UNICEF provided technical support to develop an integrated and coordinated social protection package for orphans and vulnerable children in five focus provinces. It brought new attention to children on the streets and the situation of children in residential care through national studies. UNICEF support enabled a one-stop centre to be established for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and its advocacy led to the government’s decision to create a dedicated Department for Child Protection and Family Issues.

In communication for development UNICEF brought new attention to the Accelerated Child Survival and Development strategy, training opinion leaders and working with communities to develop local action plans to adopt behaviour that is favourable for child and family wellbeing.

In planning, monitoring and evaluation, social policy and partnership for child rights UNICEF provided support to Burundi’s 2010 Demographic and Health Survey, which will be published in 2011. It also strengthen the media’s role as an advocate for children’s rights, and lobbied the government to develop child and women-friendly budgets and set up the National Forum for Children.

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Growing up in Burundi

Anny’s mother and father were killed in the civil war in 1994 when she was a tiny three-month-old baby. Her sister was just two years older at the time. An aunt stepped in but could not provide some of the basics for the girls and they soon dropped out of school. Sixteen years later, Anny and her sister are being cared for by a foster mother who has been able to send Anny to school. There are thousands of children like Anny in Burundi who have endured great hardship but now face the prospect of a brighter future. This scarred nation, which has been through recurrent waves of violence as well as a protracted civil war since independence in 1962, is now reaching tenuous political and social stability. If Burundi succeeds in building sustainable peace and development over the next decade, the welfare of children and women could greatly improve. More than half of Burundi’s population is under the age of 18, making children one of the country’s greatest assets. However, to raise living standards, keep children healthy and ensure that they are properly educated is a tremendously challenging task. Burundi is still reeling from the destruction and displacement of the war. The mass reintegration of refugees from Tanzania and internally displaced persons has placed enormous pressure on already over-stretched social services and over-crowded land. Geographic, income and other disparities exist in children and women’s access to services, which were also devastated during the conflict.

Anny with her foster mother, Judith Niragira

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The economy has shrunk significantly, with growth in Gross Domestic Product averaging three per cent over the past ten years. Landlocked, with limited infrastructure and the large majority of the workforce in agriculture, Burundi’s growth will heavily depend on the success of its integration into the regional East Africa Community. More than two thirds of the population lives on less than US$1 a day and Burundi is at the bottom of Human Development Index, ranking 166th out of 169 countries. Food insecurity, HIV and AIDS, and a weak legal and policy environment are all contributing to increased vulnerability of children and women. Progress towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goals deadline is weak, with six out of eight goals not on track (National MDG Progress Report 2010). An alarming 58 per cent of children under five are stunted, a rate that is one of the highest in East Africa, and 45 per cent of children are anaemic. Chronic under nutrition in early childhood diminishes cognitive and physical development, which puts children at a disadvantage for the rest of their lives.

Children’s nutritional status in Burundi, 2010

58%

29% 6% Stunting

Wasting

Underweight

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, Burundi 2010

The generalised HIV epidemic in Burundi is putting great pressure on families, communities and social services. An estimated 53,000 women aged 15 and older and 15,000 children under 15 are living with HIV. Approximately 120,000 children have lost parents or caregivers to the disease. The severely weakened health system has not been able to effectively protect children from infection and coverage of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services is only at 13 per cent. A very small proportion of HIV-positive children (4 per cent) are able to access antiretroviral treatment. Acute respiratory infections, malaria and diarrheal diseases are the biggest dangers to child survival. Only 45 per cent of children under five sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net and a mere 13 per cent are treated for malaria immediately after fever appears. The vast majority of deaths from diarrhoea are due to the lack of safe drinking water and proper hygiene and sanitation. With one out of every 115 women dying during pregnancy or childbirth, Burundi has one of the region’s highest maternal mortality rates. Very few women use modern contraception and access to skilled attendance at birth, which though on the rise, only reaches 60 per cent of pregnant women.

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A positive trend is the significant decrease in child mortality as a result of the introduction of free healthcare for young children and pregnant women in 2006. According to preliminary results of the 2010 Demographic and Health Survey, infant mortality dropped from 120 per 1,000 live births in 2005 to 59 in 2010, and under-five mortality decreased from 176 to 96 during the same period. Burundi’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation has also succeeded in fully vaccinating 83 per cent of children between one and two years.

Trends in child mortality in Burundi

176 152 120

103

96 59

Infant mortality rate

MICS 2005

Under-five mortality rate

Census 2008

DHS 2010

Source: Demographic and Health Survey, Burundi 2010

After school fees were abolished in 2005, children flocked to primary school, boosting net enrolment from 56 per cent in 2005 to 94.1 per cent for the 2009/10 school year. There are however a large number of over-aged children in classes and the quality of education has not been able to keep pace with the new influx of students. Hunger, over-crowded classrooms, long distances to school, and the double shift that reduces children’s school hours from six-aday to 3.5 are among the many reasons why more than a third of children repeat grades and over half do not complete school. More than 830,000 children in Burundi, or 11 per cent of the total population, are orphaned or vulnerable. The Ministry of National Solidarity estimates that 20,000 orphans and vulnerable children have ended up on the streets. One in five children between 5 and 14 is working, despite the existence of laws prohibiting employment of children under the age of 16. Some 626 demobilised child soldiers have been reunited with their families, but finding a meaningful role in society is challenging for many of them. Sexual and gender-based violence is rife and a culture of impunity and violence ingrained during the conflict lingers. Burundi has no juvenile justice system and around 400 children are detained with adult prisoners, a situation that exposes them to sexual and physical abuse. This presents an opportunity to start building sustainable systems and greatly improve child protection services to heal and empower children who live on the edge of society.

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As a part of demobilisation and reintegration project, former child soldiers receive vocational training to help them in their fresh start in life (in picture: one of the project beneficiaries at work)

Burundi Facts Population

8.05

Census 2008

Proportion of the population that is under 18 years

51%

Census 2008

GDP per capita (current US$)

US$160

World Bank national accounts data/ World Development Indicators - 2009

Population living in poverty

67%

Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire, 2006

Under five mortality

166/1,000

2009, The Inter‑agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation

Maternal mortality

868

Census 2008

National HIV prevalence rate (population aged 15–49)

3.6%

Population with access to safe drinking water

72%

State of the World’s Children 2011

Population with access to improved sanitation

46%

State of the World’s Children 2011

Net primary school enrolment

94.1%

National HIV prevalence survey - 2007

National Statistical Yearbook for Education

Orphans and vulnerable children

835,996

Conseil National de Lutte contre le Sida, 2005

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NOTABLE

Achievements IN PROGRAMMES

From emergency to development 2010 saw the launch of UNICEF’s new five-year Country Programme. This is the first time since 1993 that UNICEF has been able to implement a development-oriented framework in Burundi. UNICEF has committed nearly US$100 million to the new country programme to support vulnerable children and women in five areas: health and nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene, basic education, gender equality and HIV prevention for young people child protection; communication for development; and social policy, advocacy and partnerships for child rights. Emergency preparedness remains an important strategy and activity of the country programme. The new country programme has a strong equity focus and concentrates on five provinces (Kayanza, Muyinga, Kirundo, Ngozi, Gitega), which capture more than 40 per cent of the population and include three provinces with Burundi’s worst survival and development indicators.

Health & Nutrition Providing access to community-based health services, backed by a strong referral system can save the lives of millions of children. UNICEF’s focus therefore is on helping the Government of Burundi to deliver high impact and low-cost health and nutrition interventions as part of overall efforts to revive and strengthen the health system. International and national NGOs play a key role in scaling up nutrition and HIV services. In 2010, 93 per cent of children between one and two years were immunised against measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT), haemophilus influenzae (Hib) and hepatitis B. A key part of this success was the Reach-Every-District approach, used by the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and WHO to deliver vaccination services to the most vulnerable children. Close to half a million children in Bubanza and Bujumbura Rural provinces were immunised during measles outbreaks in May and a polio campaign reached 1.6 million Burundians following the discovery of wild polio in a neighbouring province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Combating malaria, one of the biggest child killers, is a priority in Burundi. UNICEF is actively involved in prevention and treatment, procuring and helping to distribute insecticide-treated

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mosquito nets to vulnerable children and women. In 2010, 45 per cent of children under five were reported to be sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net (DHS, 2010). The Child Health Days in 2010 reached 85.9 per cent of children between six months and five years with a dose of Vitamin A and 85 per cent with de-worming medication. Key family practices such as hand washing with soap, early and exclusive breastfeeding up to the sixth month of a baby’s life and use of long-lasting insecticide treated nets are also promoted during the national campaign. Women’s reproductive health care and HIV services for women and children are still unable to cope with the demand. UNICEF is supporting the scale up of PMTCT and paediatric HIV care and treatment services. In 2010, PMTCT services reached 13 per cent of HIV-positive pregnant women and 4 per cent of children born to infected mothers were given antiretroviral medication to reduce HIV transmission. Encouraging men to support their partners during pregnancy, including going for HIV counselling and testing, is also a key strategy to increase the uptake of PMTCT services. To address Burundi’s alarming malnutrition levels, UNICEF promotes a package of high impact nutrition interventions that if implemented to scale can reduce child mortality by a third. This includes micronutrient supplementation for children and women, de-worming, optimal infant and young child feeding practices and prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition. In 2010, 69 per cent of mothers were exclusively breastfeeding up to six months, 95 per cent of women received iron and folic acid during pregnancy, and 79 per cent of acutely malnourished children in out-patient centres and 87 per cent of children in in-patient centres were cured.

A package of high-impact services offered in health centres across Burundi ensures the well-being of both a child and a mother.

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Getting men on board to support PMTCT Getting women in Burundi to use PMTCT services can be challenging. But at the Camazi Health Centre in Cankuzo province, staff, community health workers and members of the community have come up with a strategy to encourage pregnant women and their husbands or partners to come in for voluntary counselling and HIV testing. Ms Veronique, the nurse in charge of Camazi Health Centre, explains the ‘strategy’ used by the centre to reach 95 per cent of pregnant women. “For each pregnant woman who receives counselling and is tested for HIV during an antenatal care visit, our clinic gets US$2. Of this sum, the pregnant woman receives a token US$1”, says Veronique, “The other US$1 is shared between the Camazi Health Centre and the neighbouring health facility, located 10 kilometres away, which carries out laboratory tests.” Murielle and Marc, a couple interviewed at the health centre after attending antenatal care, are delighted by this initiative. “My neighbour told me that the health centre has new services such as HIV testing,” says Murielle, “She also told me that the centre offers token gifts to couples who attend antenatal care together and agree to get tested. I was convinced, and I managed to convince my husband to come with me. This is a great opportunity for us to obtain our husband’s consent to take the HIV test and for them to get some information about HIV prevention.” With support from UNICEF and its partners, PMTCT services recently introduced in Cankuzo province have been a great success and are now offered in 12 sites. In the Camazi Health Centre, 75 per cent of pregnant women have been accompanied by their male partners during antenatal visits. HIV-related stigma and discrimination can isolate a woman and even lead to abandonment by the family. Fear of such prejudice can cause some women to refuse HIV testing, or not return for their test results. Often the greatest worry is the reaction of the partner. Men are therefore key allies in reproductive health issues. If couples are counselled and tested together then there is less potential for blame and recrimination. With an average of 380,000 estimated pregnancies every year in Burundi, around 7,800 pregnant women are expected to be HIV positive and can unknowingly infect their babies if nothing is done to reduce transmission. PMTCT can reduce the transmission risk to two per cent or less. * Names of individuals have been changed to protect their identity

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Basic education, gender equality and HIV prevention Reviving an education system after years of conflict and neglect provides an opportunity to rebuild from top to bottom. UNICEF’s Basic Education programme in Burundi is comprehensive, focusing on early childhood development to get children ready for formal school; boosting access and quality of primary education, including HIV education; and strengthening national capacity to plan for and deliver better educational services. 2010 saw accelerated progress in UNICEF’s focus provinces, where net enrolment and gross enrolment rates increased by 4.7 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively. Gains were made in girls’ education in the five provinces, with the Gender Parity Index rising to 0.89 compared to the national average of 0.93. Repetition and drop out rates have been increasing in Burundi as a result of poor quality of education. For example, in the 2009/2010 school year, the national repetition rate rose to 35 per cent, while drop-out rates doubled from 3.8 to 7.4 per cent. Although the general trends in the focus provinces were most positive with repetition decreasing by 0.6 per cent, drop-out rates increased by 20 per cent. These statistics show that UNICEF needs to continue advocating for the importance of educational quality, as well as access. The Back-to-School campaign reached all teachers with essential pedagogical resources and 40 per cent of primary school students, including the most disadvantaged, with learning materials. Additionally the campaign reintegrated 15,526 children who had previously dropped out of school, and enrolled 45,622 over-age children. Using established norms and standards for the construction of child-friendly schools, six new schools were built and 135 classrooms rehabilitated in 2010 with UNICEF support, benefiting 8,600 children. Another 8,236 returnee children joined the education system after completing an intensive language and catch-up programme.

Girls and boys from Gatwe school in Makamba province on their way to class. Equal access to education for boys and girls is a key element of the child-friendly school concept in Burundi.

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The child-friendly school framework follows simple principles that can dramatically transform children’s education into a positive learning experience. Child-friendly schools aim to be inclusive, gender-sensitive, safe and protective, health promoting, academically effective and engaged with the local community. The approach is being introduced to five additional provinces in Burundi. To strengthen HIV and AIDS education in schools, 1,107 teachers and administrators and 141 school management committee members were trained on prevention of HIV infection and gender issues. An additional 200 community leaders participated in awareness-raising sessions on prevention of HIV and sexual and gender-based violence. In early childhood development, 100,000 young children benefited from activities in communitybased recreation spaces and early childhood development centres. Twenty-seven preschools were equipped with play kits, and 430 educators received a collection of local stories that transmit social values and customs. With UNICEF support, the Ministry of Education trained 58,000 parents, 1,160 community leaders, 980 community animators and 42 journalists on the importance of integrated early childhood development. In policy and planning, UNICEF supported the Ministry of Education to develop and disseminate a Reference Guide for Teacher Competencies and the HIV/AIDS Strategy for the Education Sector. An action plan to promote gender equity in primary education was developed based on the 2009 Gender Audit and will be implemented in 2011. A study on the causes of school repetition and dropout is underway. Continued support for data management allowed the Ministry of Education to pilot the Education Statistics Database in three provinces in 2010.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene In Burundi, UNICEF is one of the very few international partners working in the water sector and the only organisation to support basic sanitation. Improved water, sanitation and hygiene services are critical for child survival and development and for overall achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In 2010, UNICEF support to under-served areas and peace villages in the main areas of repatriation led to 60,000 additional people gaining access to safe drinking water, including 11,000 returnees. Furthermore, the rehabilitation and construction of springs, shallow wells and water gravity systems brought clean drinking water to 13 primary schools that cater for 6,800 school children, and 10 health centres in the peace villages that have received Burundians repatriated from Tanzania and surrounding host communities. Schools provide an opportunity to reach thousands of children with safe water, appropriate sanitation facilities, and hygiene and health messages. In 2010, UNICEF worked with the government and partners to construct water points and separate latrines for girls and boys, hand-washing facilities and rainwater collection systems in 47 schools in Burundi’s northeastern provinces. These are among the provinces with the lowest access rates to safe water and sanitation. The interventions will contribute to reducing diarrhoeal disease among children, which will in turn help increase school attendance. UNICEF adapted the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach, piloting it in 11 communes that are located in 11 different provinces and reaching nearly 300,000 people. In response to the pilot’s success, CLTS will be rolled out in other communities. CLTS is an innovative methodology through which communities

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are mobilised to eliminate defecating in the open. It combines behavioural change with local solutions, including latrine construction, to create a culture of good sanitation. To control cholera that is endemic in areas along Lake Tanganyika, the Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage strategy was implemented in six provinces in partnership with the international NGO, Population Services International. Low-cost interventions for household treatment of drinking water and safe storage can significantly reduce the microbial load in drinking water and thereby reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases. In terms of policy development, UNICEF supported the Ministry of Health to develop the National Sanitation Policy and update the Code of Hygiene. A national forum was held in October 2010, creating an opportunity for key partners to convene, and for media to publicise the new policy to the public.

Child Protection Increasingly, international organisations such as UNICEF are taking a ‘systems approach’ to establish or strengthen child protection efforts. Rather than treat each child safety concern in isolation, this approach promotes a holistic view of children and child protection that necessarily engages the full range of actors involved in protecting children’s rights. In Burundi this is the main thrust of the UNICEF Child Protection and Rights Protection programme. A key victory for children in 2010 was the establishment of a Department for Child Protection and Family Issues within the Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender. UNICEF had been advocating for the designation of a government department to be exclusively dedicated to child and family issues to fill a major gap in coordinating child protection interventions, policies and legislation.

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UNICEF further supported the Ministry of National Solidarity and its National Coordination Committee on Orphans and Vulnerable Children to strengthen the coordination and regulation of the child protection system at ‘colline’, communal and provincial levels. In the five focus provinces UNICEF, together with the Ministry, trained 311 Child Protection Committees whose primary role is to ensure the protection of children and the promotion of their rights at decentralised levels. An important step towards creating a comprehensive child protection system is to assess existing child protection policies, laws and services, and to identify obstacles and opportunities for implementation. This mapping and assessment exercise was conducted in Burundi with UNICEF support in 2010 and its results will inform the development of the country’s national child protection policy and action plan. In partnership with the National Coordination Committee on Orphans and Vulnerable Children and civil society, UNICEF helped standardise an integrated and comprehensive package of services for orphans and vulnerable children, which includes health, education, protection, psychosocial and legal assistance, and socio-economic capacity development. The package was implemented in UNICEF’s focus provinces and lessons learnt from the experience were shared with partners during a follow-up National Forum on Orphans and Vulnerable Children. Burundi has no functioning juvenile justice system and children in conflict with the law are often detained with adults, putting them at high risk of physical and sexual abuse. In 2010, the Juvenile Justice thematic group took the first steps to prepare a national Children’s Act, which will revise or establish child-friendly laws in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As part of efforts to improve capacity on the ground, UNICEF supported the training of 46 judicial police officers on juvenile justice. In 2010, UNICEF-supported activities to provide special protection to vulnerable children included a study of children living and working on the street in Burundi’s three main cities; an annual birth registration campaign reaching 44,000 children; continued work to reintegrate 626 children formerly associated with the armed forces; and the creation of a one-stop victim support centre in Gitega for children and women who have been raped and physically assaulted. Thirty social workers from three provinces (Gitega, Karuzi and Ruyigi) were trained to document cases of sexual and gender-based violence and provide support to the victims. The first periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was presented to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in September 2010. The government subsequently received concluding observations that will be used to improve the realisation of children’s rights in Burundi.

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An oasis in Bujumbura’s suburbs gives young people a new start in life Butoyi wants to be President of Burundi one day. No wait - maybe a commercial airline pilot. That’s how high the 18-year-old resident of Bujumbura has set the bar for himself. Not bad for a youngster who emerged from the darkness of the outlying suburbs of the Burundian capital - thanks in large part to the care, activities and scholarship support provided via a dropin centre called the Meo Lino Lava Centre for children, mothers and conflict orphans. Butoyi says he lost both of his parents by the time he was 12. Six years ago he learned of the centre through a friend, and since then, he has benefited from not only the support services at the centre but also a scholarship from overseas that allowed him to complete his secondary school education. He has a personality that is compassionate, curious, caring and ambitious. The centre - brightly painted and in pristine condition, complete with a library, clinic and kitchen - was established during one of the country’s darkest periods - in the midst of a bloody civil war, in 2002 in Cibitoke, a suburb characterised by its extreme poverty and urban decay. The centre, made possible by the Distance Support Programme and Comunità Biellese Aiuti Umanitari (CBAU), an Italian aid association, was founded to meet the need for a shared protected place for children and mothers. The aim was to provide a tangible response to the emergencies and demands of the area in terms of food, health assistance, education and psychosocial support.

It has expanded to an improved facility, in the same district, and provides services such as educational and recreational activities for the children, a library, music lessons, group and individual psychosocial counselling, health assistance, and guided micro credit opportunities. A programme of child sponsorship is extended to some children, with the financial support coming from individual Italian sponsors. The centre now accommodates as many as 600 children, ranging in age from 5 to 18. UNICEF provided direct financial and supply support to the centre in 2009 and 2010. As part of its child protection mandate in Burundi, UNICEF assists projects that aid the reintegration of vulnerable children back into society, as well as advocacy for a more robust juvenile justice system. Bakary Sogoba, UNICEF Burundi Child Protection Chief said: “Burundi is a country which suffered through 16 years of conflict. A lot of the institutions for vulnerable children need to be rehabilitated. The needs are huge.” “There is a silent, chronic emergency going on here. If one keeps quiet the situation can easily get worse.” But from the looks of it, Butoyi will be anything but a burden on the system. In fact he now projects the air of a born mentor to his peers. Asked what his hopes are for the future, Butoyi said: “I hope that one day Burundi will be peaceful for all.”

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Communication for Development Communication for Development is a vital dimension of development and humanitarian assistance. By using a mix of participatory communication strategies and approaches, communication for development helps to empower individuals and communities to take action to improve their lives. In Burundi, UNICEF’s communication for development programme works to achieve stronger and more sustainable results for children and women. In 2010, UNICEF continued to support awareness raising of the Accelerated Child Survival and Development Strategy. Religious and civil society leaders, NGOs and media were made aware of how the rapid scale-up of inexpensive and high impact health and nutrition services could have a dramatic impact on child survival. Communities were reached with key messages on healthy child and family practices through media and public health campaigns. The simple act of washing hands with soap can reduce the risk of diarrhoea by a half, and is an important weapon in combating childhood illnesses. In October 2010, UNICEF donated a mobile cinema van to the Ministry of Health to strengthen its health education services. The van will be used to broadcast messages on behaviour change during campaigns on hand washing and use of insecticide-treated bednets, and in the case of epidemics and natural disasters. To help develop a robust Communication for Development strategy for Burundi, several preparatory activities are taking place. In 2010, for example, a KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) study on childcare and health behaviour was in its final stage while in three of the UNICEF five focus provinces, UNICEF and the government began work to set up communelevel Communication for Development committees.

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Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships for Child Rights In Burundi, UNICEF strives to prioritise children’s and women’s rights in national policies and plans; promotes participatory planning and monitoring; and encourages local partners to leverage resources for children. Planning, monitoring and evaluation Planning, evaluation and monitoring the welfare of children and women are a core part of UNICEF’s work process. In Burundi, UNICEF continues to foster its role as the go-to agency for comprehensive data and analysis on the situation of children and women. UNICEF provided support to data collection for the 2010 Demographic and Healthy Survey, and the National Institute of Statistics benefited from support to update its socioeconomic database called BurundInfo, which will allow it to better track Burundi’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and national poverty reduction targets. Social policy, advocacy and partnerships An essential feature of UNICEF’s work in social policy, advocacy and partnerships is to bring children, youth and women into the policy formulation process. It is this kind of innovative work, along with negotiations about resource allocation, as well as building partnerships around children’s rights that often goes unnoticed, but is key to meeting commitments to children’s rights and gender equality.

A young journalist in Bujumbura advocates for children’s rights in a weekly radio broadcast.

In 2010, partnerships with the media were strengthened by training 30 journalists on childfriendly reporting. 60 journalists were also trained in reporting in emergencies. UNICEF designated the Day of the African Child and the 21st anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Children to advocate for child and women-friendly budgets and for the establishment of the National Forum for Children. Successful advocacy efforts led to the Ministry of Labour to include children’s vulnerability issues into the draft Social Protection Policy. To promote child participation, three children from Burundi were sponsored to attend youth events in Uganda and Rwanda to highlight the plight of the country’s children.

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way

Forward

The new UNICEF country programme aims to bring lasting change to the children and women of Burundi. It does so by helping to consolidate peace and development processes through support for accelerated implementation of integrated child survival, development and protection interventions. Building on the achievements of 2010, UNICEF will continue to provide a unique, long-term and sustainable response to the challenges children face. UNICEF’s programme priorities in 2011 are presented below.

Health and Nutrition UNICEF will support the decentralisation of the health system in Burundi and improve its capacity to deliver quality essential services in line with the Health Sector Strategic Plan for 2011–2015 and relevant health and nutrition guidelines. UNICEF will support community case management of childhood illnesses, through training of community health workers, to address disparities and improve health outcomes for children. Preventing and treating under nutrition – by providing micronutrient supplementation, promoting infant and young child feeding practices and managing acute malnutrition – will also be a major priority.

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Basic Education In pursuit of the goal of primary school completion for all school aged children by 2014, UNICEF will put emphasis on improving educational quality and access, and enhancing young children’s school readiness as well as reinforcing the capacity of school managers and teachers to deliver quality education. Interventions such as the child-friendly school programme, parental education for early learning and policy development will be supported.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Scaling up the CLTS approach is UNICEF’s main priority for the water, sanitation and hygiene programme in 2011. Focus will also be put on providing safe drinking water in communities, health centres and schools. Promoting hand washing with soap will be conducted through campaigns and health education activities in schools and health facilities. UNICEF will continue to support construction of water points in the peace villages, as part of the rural development project implemented in close collaboration with FAO and UNDP.

Child Protection UNICEF will continue to cement building blocks of a comprehensive child protection system in 2011. Priorities for the year will include: advocating for the adoption of key policies such as the Children’s Act; strengthening the capacity of 2,795 members of Child Protection Committees; helping 5,000 orphans and vulnerable children to access an efficient social protection system; supporting a birth registration campaign in Kirundo and Muyinga provinces; and providing access to treatment and counselling for victims of sexual and gender-based violence through the Gitega one-stop centre.

Communication for Development UNICEF will continue to carry out social mobilisation, advocacy and behaviour change activities in the five focus provinces with the primary goal of helping parents to adopt key childcare and family practices, and empowering communities to defend children’s rights. Support will be provided for community dialogues to promote children’s right to education.

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships for Children’s Rights In 2011, UNICEF’s major focus for the programme will be to finalise the 2010 Demographic and Health Survey and update BurundiInfo. Also of importance will be partnership building with the Parliament and social sector ministries, support to the National Forum of Children, advocacy for children and adolescent participation, and the inclusion of children within the social protection system.

20 | ANNUAL REPORT BURUNDI

Finances RESOURCES BY DONOR, 2010 (US$) Regular Resources Other Resources

10,015,000 8,261,116

National Committees for UNICEF

548,069

Belgian Committee

367,166

German Committee

117,086

US Fund

63,816

Bilateral Partners

5,921,338

ECHO

2,492,411

Government of the United Kingdom

1,260,811

Government of Japan

1,205,751

Government of Australia

236,371

European Commission

224,446

Government of France

218,131

Principality of Monaco

150,736

Government of Canada

98,088

Government of Belgium

34,594

Non-governmental donors

120,886

Micronutrient Initiative

66,335

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

51,065

The United Nations Foundation

1,768

The GAVI Fund

1,719

Thematic Funds

1,390,512

Basic education & gender equality

708,209

Young child survival & development

278,257

Child protection

258,274

Global – Girls Education

56,812

Global – Humanitarian Response

43,773

HIV & AIDS and children

43,440

Policy advocacy & partnerships Total contributions

1,748 7,980,805

For more information, contact: UNICEF Country Office in Burundi B.P. 1650 Bujumbura Burundi Switchboard: +257 22202000 Email: [email protected]