Burundi News

Bujumbura, April 2025 – Burundi had never seen anything like it before: on a Saturday in December 2022, 35-year-old Johari gave birth to six babies. She had been transferred from the southern town of Rumonge to the Kamenge Military Hospital in Bujumbura for specialized care.

“Everyone was astonished that day; it was unbelievable,” she recalled. “But I was the most amazed of all, seeing all my babies born alive. I thanked God for keeping me alive through it all.”

Bujumbura – Since the beginning of 2025, Burundi has recorded fewer mpox cases, with an average of 70 new cases per week during the first nine weeks of the year, as efforts continue to end the outbreak.

In the week ending on 26 February, 21 new cases were confirmed. A reduction of nearly 95% compared with the peak observed in the week of 21 – 27 October 2024 when 222 new cases were reported. Currently 15 of the 49 health districts out are reporting active transmission of the virus, down from 34 in September 2024.

Bujumbura – The biomedical laboratory is a critical component of outbreak response efforts. In Burundi, it serves as a cornerstone in addressing the current mpox outbreak. When the outbreak was declared on 25 July, the country faced a shortage of qualified staff to manage the laboratory pillar effectively. As of 17 November, Burundi is the second most affected country in the African Region, with 2003 confirmed mpox cases. 

Bujumbura – “It’s unacceptable that in 2024, children are still born with HIV,” says Novela Irakoze, a woman living who with HIV and advocate for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. “I was born with HIV and my goal is to protect children from experiencing what I did.”

Novela is part of a group called Mentor Mothers, which supports pregnant women living with HIV in receiving treatment to protect their babies from HIV.

Bujumbura – "I'm diabetic and life here is very hard, very complicated," complains Jean Ndimurirwo, 68, who has lived in the Maramvya camp for displaced people, near Bujumbura in Burundi, since being driven from her home by floodwaters three years ago. 

Bujumbura – Burundi’s health authorities today launched the country’s first national polio vaccination campaign since 2011, targeting nearly 3 million children under seven years of age following the first alerts of circulating poliovirus type 2 in more than three decades.

Abdallah (nom d’emprunt) est un jeune marocain qui a succombé à une infection à Staphylococcus Aureus Résistant à la Méticilline « SARM », un type de bactérie à gram positif très résistante à plusieurs molécules. Cette infection est survenue après son retour au bercail suite à une opération chirurgicale qu’il a subie en France. Au Maroc où il devait poursuivre sa rééducation, il lui a été diagnostiqué une infection à staphylocoque doré multi résistant donc ne répondant pas à l’arsenal thérapeutique disponible sur le marché.