Nyarugusu (Tanzania) : the mortality rate jumps worryingly, refugees fear the worst

Since January this year, Nyarugusu camp has recorded more deaths per month than before. The main cause is the suspension of transfers from emergencies to reference hospitals and the lack of medicines among Burundians.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to medical sources at Nyarugusu camp, the number of deaths per month has been between 8 and 13 since last January.

“Some die in hospital, others at home. All for the simple reason that there are no more transfers of emergency cases outside the camp”, Explanations given by medical sources, confirmed by certain community leaders who fear “a lack of space at the cemetery.”

The suspension of transfers is part of a massive “voluntary” repatriation launched by Tanzania which is due to end next October according to a timetable published by the UNHCR, jointly with the Tanzanian authorities.

Burundi refugees can’t believe it

“Imagine that the most urgent transfer we receive here is to go for treatment in the Congolese zone! This is truly unthinkable. This is a way of forcing us to repatriate, because those who want to return due to illness have priority. So, they are playing on our lives,” they lament.

Among the victims of this high mortality rate, the elderly and those suffering from chronic illnesses.

“And moreover, even the distribution of medicines and kits for diabetes patients, hypertension patients or even for HIV/AIDS patients, is no longer done on a regular basis, delays of up to a month can be recorded. It’s a shame,” they denounce.

Worse still, those for whom the measure was taken when they were already in hospitals in the cities of Dar-es-Salaam, Kigoma or Mwanza, saw themselves sent back or held back to pay the medical bill, Burundian refugees regret.

“At this rate, count the number of deaths until next October or December! No one will survive until this fateful date if nothing is done to save our lives,” they appeal to the Tanzanian authorities and humanitarian agencies.

The UNHCR says it is following the program of the tripartite commission which met last December and which set the deadline for the closure of Burundian refugee camps in Tanzania in October 2024.

“UNHCR representatives in Tanzania ended up supporting this repression due to fear of being deported. Now, it is difficult to differentiate the UNHCR from the Tanzanian government based solely on what they say in meetings,” deplores Léopold Sharangabo, representative of the CBDH/VICAR organization which campaigns for the rights of refugees.

According to UNHCR data, Tanzania has more than 130,000 Burundian refugees, including more than 50,000 living in Nyarugusu camp.

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Illustration photo : children at Nyarugusu camp in Tanzania, a category threatened by the suspension of emergency transfers outside the camp