Burundi

The majority of people in Burundi, home to more than 10 million people, live in rural areas and face limited access to reproductive health care. The country’s decade-long civil war took a toll on women and families, during which time rape as a weapon of war was widespread. Today, rates of sexual violence and HIV rates in Burundi remain high, and cultural norms limit women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care.

In partnership with the Burundi Ministry of Health and local health providers, and with the support of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), EngenderHealth works to improve care for survivors of sexual violence. To address the root causes of gender-based violence, EngenderHealth leads workshops and trains facilitators to involve men as partners in women’s health. Our projects in the Kayanza and Muyinga provinces of Burundi work to ensure that the next generation of women can live free of sexual violence and that today’s survivors receive the high- quality reproductive health care they need to lead healthy lives.