Highlights
Refugee influxes per day have increased over the past two months from a daily average of less than 100 to as high as 400 per day during peak days over the last half of August.
School WASH interventions have accelerated with the decommissioning of full latrines in schools and construction of new latrines benefiting over 6,000 school children.
News of a cholera outbreak in Burundi has stepped up surveillance and prevention measures in the camps and at border points.
Nutrition support continued at health facilities in the camps with 85 children being treated for severe actual malnutrition over the past two months.
A full nutritional survey, supported by UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR commenced this month to gather more rigorous data about mother and child nutrition.
Situation Overview
During the period from July to August 2016 a total of 8,891 new refugees from Burundi were registered as they crossed into Tanzania (see figure 1). This is double the number that arrived during May and June this year. The overcrowded situation in the Nyaragusu camp has been decongested by relocating refugees from crowded zones to two new camp locations, however, shortage of water in the third newly established camp has halted relocation since July. This means Nyaragusu still remains overcrowded. With the second camp full and the third camp due to reach its maximum capacity in 3 to 4 months the search for a fourth camp site is underway. Finding a location with suitable water and road access to accommodate 50,000 refugees continues to be a challenge. The newly appointed Minister of Home Affairs visited all refugee camps in August and the issue of land for new camp sites was discussed at length. He also witnessed the services provided to children in the camps and was impressed with the motivation of refugees who themselves serve as teachers, nurses and sanitation staff within the camps.
Donor interest to refugee response efforts remains low as the overall funding requirements is around 40 per cent across all UN agencies and NGOs, with UNICEF currently funded at 42 per cent. UN agencies are revamping contingency plans to increase preparedness for possible increased influxes from Burundi as well as DRC in 2017. The host population in Kigoma region (where the refugee camps are located) are among the poorest people in Tanzania and their children consistently rank among the lowest performers across many key indicators including health, nutrition, sanitation and education. The contrast between the quality of services in the camps and the poor services in local villages is noticeable and remains a gap in the response as well as a source of potential friction between refugees and host villages. The UN is developing an area based programme to address the development gaps in the Kigoma region that have been heightened by the refugee influx.