Human Health Aid-Burundi

Mission

• To contribute to and help improve the mental wellbeing of people and communities in Burundi.  
• To facilitate rapid and easy access to psychosocial assistance and support for refugees, internally displaced people and victims of disasters in affected communities and areas.
• To study, do research and carry out applied research - disseminate innovation-based access and intervention (WASH, SVB etc.) - adding to the evidence base of practice in a variety of mental healthcare settings.  

Overview

Insignificant involvement of civil society, local organisation and low participation by communities has negatively impacted on the availability of emergency support in cases of conflict, disasters and poverty. Mental health and psychosocial emergency support challenges in the Burundian context of war where sexual abuse, rape, torture and other inhuman treatment constitute weapons of war, has not been given enough priority.  While limited access to mental health care exists in the urban areas, the rest of the country, where many cases of sexual and gender-based violence are reported, have many areas where limited or no aid and/or emergency organisations operate and where people and communities have no access to mental health of psychosocial care.  In many cases where there is limited aid or an emergency presence, the services on offer are largely insufficient due to a lack of knowledge, limited skills and expertise and a lack of capacity for training and education. To us it is clear that existing aid and support available in the non-urban areas are limited and inefficient - there needs to be a novel and innovative intervention to effectively deal with the SGBV humanitarian crises in Burundi.