A. Situation analysis
Description of the disaster
Since early April 2015, 228,689 people (UNCHR) have fled Burundi due to tension and violence occurring before and after presidential elections held in Burundi in July 2015, seeking safety in neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. As of 28 December 2015 (UNCHR), an estimated 71,820 Burundi nationals have sought refuge in Rwanda, crossing through entry points across 10 districts along the Burundi-Rwanda border, in the South East of the country. The Burundi nationals arrived without their belongings due to security concerns as well as the long distances travelled, in some instances more than 170 km from their homes. Following their arrival, they were hosted in 3 transit centers in Bugesera district (Eastern Province), Nyanza district (Southern Province) and Rusizi district (Western Province), before being moved after registration to Mahama permanent camp in Kirehe district (Eastern Province), where at the onset of the influx there were limited basic services (first aid, health, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene promotion) being provided.
On 11 May 2015, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) released 244,580 Swiss franc 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) with emergency relief and shelter, first aid, hygiene promotion, psychosocial support, registration and tracing services in the transit centers and permanent camp, for a period of 3 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 3 weeks to enable assessments to be completed, which were 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 549,020 Swiss franc to support 10,000 people (2,000 families): specifically 7,500 people (1,500 families living in the Mahama camp and 2,500 people (500 families) living in the Munini host community, neighbouring this camp (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 / Govt, Canadian Red Cross / Govt., DG ECHO and Netherlands Red Cross / Silent Emergencies Fund. 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 UK 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.