Burundi : partial relief in refugee camps — Food Rations Extended and Increased

SOS Médias Burundi

Ruyigi, September 29, 2025 — A wave of relief is sweeping through refugee camps across Burundi. Food assistance, initially scheduled to be suspended in November, will not be interrupted after all. The World Food Program (WFP) has successfully mobilized the necessary funds to extend food distribution until March 2026, an announcement met with enthusiasm by the refugees.

Starting in October, the monthly food ration was increased by 20%, bringing the level of assistance to 70% of food needs, compared to 50% distributed since the beginning of the year.

In the camps, this news was received with relief and hope, after several months of anxiety over the threat of aid being suspended.

At the Nyankanda camp in the district of Ruyigi, Buhumuza province, eastern Burundi, Ndagano, a Congolese refugee, testifies :

“For the past few months, we lived in fear that the aid would stop. That would have plunged our families into even greater hardship. Today, we are very grateful that this aid has not only been maintained but also increased.”

For him, this renewed hope gives a new lease of life to those who, for years, have depended on this assistance to survive.

Still immense needs

While this improvement represents a considerable step forward, it should not obscure many other difficulties that refugees face every day. Access to medical care remains limited, schools lack equipment and staff, and prospects for self-sufficiency remain slim.

Martha, also a refugee in Nyankanda, shares this tempered joy :

“We are very happy about this increase in the food ration.” But other essential needs, such as health and education, remain neglected. We must also consider strengthening these sectors so that our lives here can be more dignified.”

According to several humanitarian actors, the situation in the camps remains fragile, and international funding is steadily declining.

Burundi, a land of refuge despite the crisis

Burundi currently hosts more than 100,000 refugees, spread across five camps in the northeast, located in the provinces of Buhumuza and Butanyerera, and one site in the province of Burunga, in the south of the country.

Refugees also live in urban areas, notably in Bujumbura, the commercial capital, and in Rumonge, a port city in the southwest of the country.

Some have been living in Burundi for more than 20 years. Although they are of various nationalities, the majority come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fleeing the ongoing violence in the east of the country.