Training to Prepare for COVID-19 in Burundi
Over the past several months, International Medical Corps has been working closely with Burundi’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and other local partners to protect the country from Ebola, which the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo has been battling since 2018. These preparations are now paying off in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Burundi government recently chose three hospitals to be COVID-19 treatment centers, where International Medical Corps held the country’s first-ever COVID-19 case management training. At each hospital, we trained frontline healthcare workers, plus teams from the MoH’s emergency response unit, on COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
Burundi is one Africa’s most densely populated countries, with extremely high rates of malnutrition and communicable diseases. Much of the population has been displaced due to the effects of climate change, and they live in crowded settings with poor sanitation. The country’s hospitals lack adequate equipment, including ventilators and beds for patients with COVID-19 complications. With a presidential campaign on the horizon and, to date, no significant restrictions on social gathering, International Medical Corps’ Burundi team remains worried about a quick and unmanageable spike in cases.
“The level of preparation is very, very low, and there is also low access to information,” says Hamit Nassour, Country Director. “But due to our training, we think that at least the health facilities will be aware of the treatment protocols.”
Over the weeks to come, International Medical Corps will continue to play a key role in Burundi’s COVID-19 response, including supporting surveillance activities at Bujumbura International Airport to track incoming passengers from countries with confirmed cases.
To ensure continuity of services, International Medical Corps has trained all of its Burundi staff about COVID-19 prevention and implemented infection protection and control measures covering activities in all offices and field sites. And despite the official lack of mandate at the national level, we have either stopped conducting activities where social distancing is impossible or adapted our approach to provide services remotely.
International Medical Corps has operated in Burundi since 1995, supporting conflict-affected and underserved communities with primary healthcare, nutrition and gender-based violence treatment and prevention. Learn more about our COVID-19 global emergency response and our work in Burundi.
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