Burundi refugees exceed 105,000 - over 70,000 in Tanzania alone
The number of refugees arriving in Tanzania has risen exponentially over the past week as people pour over Burundi’s borders, with new arrivals citing fear of violence and intimidation as primary reasons for leaving. Tens of thousands are in urgent need of clean water, health care, food and shelter. Without these basic needs being met, the risk of disease spreading among new arrivals is dangerously high.
Over 70,000 refugees, mostly women and children, are estimated to have arrived at Kagunga beach, a rugged beach shore on the border between Burundi and Tanzania on Lake Tanganyika. They are being moved by boat to Kigoma, where they are registered before being bussed to Nyarugusu camp. Risk of disease outbreak is dangerously high due to lack of clean water and adequate sanitation.
Oxfam teams are arriving to provide material and technical support to deliver life-saving clean water, construct latrines, as well as to educate the refugee population about the crucial importance of good hygiene in preventing disease. We are in the process of scaling up our response.
In the photo: Burundian children at a refugee transit point in Lake Tanganyika Stadium, Kigoma, Tanzania. Current statistics show that about 60 percent of registered Burundian refugees are women and children; about 10 percent of children are unaccompanied or separated from their parents. More: http://oxf.am/ZQDU
Photo: Bill Marwa/Oxfam
