A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Since early April 2015, more than 228,689 people fled Burundi due to tension and violence occurring before and after the presidential elections held in July 2015 (UNCHR).They sought refuge in neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania,
Uganda and Zambia. According to the UNCHR as of 28 December 2015, an estimated 71,820 Burundi Nationals sought refuge in Rwanda, crossing through entry points across 10 districts along the Burundi-Rwanda border in the south east of the country. The refugees arrived without their belongings due to in-security as well as the long distances travelled, In some instances they travelled more than 170 km from their homes. Following their arrival, they were hosted in three transit centres in Bugesera district (Eastern Province), Nyanza district (Southern Province), and Rusizi district (Western Province), after registration they were relocated to Mahama permanent camp, which is located in Kirehe district (Eastern Province).At the onset of the influx there were limited basic services (first aid, health, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion) being provided at the camp.
On 11 May 2015, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) released Swiss Franc 244,580 from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Rwanda Red Cross Society respond to the needs of 7,500 people (1,500 families).They were supported with emergency relief and shelter, first aid, hygiene promotion, psychosocial support, registration and tracing services in the transit centres and permanent camp for a period of three months. From 10 July 2015, while the implementation of the DREF operation continued, it was identified that there was an increasing number of refugees entering Rwanda from Burundi and also emerging needs in host communities surrounding the camps. Given the evolution of the situation, it was agreed that an expanded response was required through the launch of an Emergency Appeal (EA). On 5 August 2015, an Operations Update was issued, which extended the timeframe of the DREF operation for an additional three weeks to enable assessments be completed. This was expected to culminate in the launch of an Emergency Appeal (New end date: 31 August 2015). On 31 August 2015, another Operations Update was issued, which extended the timeframe by two additional weeks (New end date: 15 September 2015) to further support this process. On 18 September 2015, following the end of the DREF operation, an EA was launched, seeking Swiss franc 549,020 to support 10,000 people (2,000 families): specifically targeted 7,500 people (1,500 families living in the Mahama camp and 2,500 people (500 families) in the host community (Munini) separate from the people assisted through the DREF operation. Please refer to the EA for information on this operation.
This DREF has been partially replenished by the Belgian Red Cross / Government, Canadian Red Cross / Goverment, DG ECHO, and Netherlands Red Cross. The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Red Cross Societies and Governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the USA, as well as DG ECHO, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) the Medtronic and Zurich Foundations and other corporate and private donors. The IFRC, on behalf of the Rwanda Red Cross Society would like to extend many thanks to all partners for their generous contributions.
Please note that this Preliminary Report is issued in advance of the Final Report, which is expected to be issued by the end of March 2016 following the reconciliation of expenditures incurred and explanation by the Rwanda Red Cross Society (RRCS) on any variances in terms of the proposed strategy (as highlighted in this report).