Burundi

The majority of people in Burundi live in rural areas and face limited access to sexual and 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 in Burundi remain high, and cultural norms limit women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care.

EngenderHealth supports local civil society organizations in Burundi to tackle gender norms, prevent gender-based violence, and institutionalize high-quality care and treatment for survivors of gender-based violence, including integrating such care into broader sexual and reproductive health and HIV services at service delivery points.

Since 2014, EngenderHealth’s work in Burundi has supported the care of more than 1,200 survivors of sexual violence and physical violence and has contributed to the development of major policies and guidelines for an integrated gender-based violence response at the national level.