Cholera epidemic in Burundi

Since June 2019, Burundi has been facing a major cholera epidemic. More than 1,000 cases have been recorded, the majority from Bujumbura, the country's main city.

For years, MSF has been the main humanitarian organisation supporting the Burundian authorities in the care of cholera patients. This support has taken the form of providing medical inputs, training staff and setting up cholera treatment centres, depending on the year.

This year, MSF teams were already supporting the Ministry of Health before the official declaration of this epidemic in June. This support has increased over the months and, thanks to the speed of the response, there have been almost no casualties in the country, despite the large number of cases.

Today, MSF supports the three main cholera treatment facilities in Burundi, with a focus on supervising and training Burundian staff. Burundi’s newest cholera treatment centre opened its doors in early October in Bujumbura. Set up by MSF in just two weeks, the 50-bed centre is now the city’s main treatment centre.

Since the disease is closely linked to people’s lack of access to clean drinking water, MSF has also installed high-capacity water tanks in Bujumbura and in Rugombo and Ndava in Cibitoke province, and supports awareness raising campaigns.

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