How the International Health Partnership will help in Burundi
Burundi is a country determined to improve poor people’s access to health services. But, emerging from a long period of conflict, it has far to go to meet the Millennium Development Goals, and its health situation is one of the worst in the world. Burundi's infant and maternal mortality figures make this clear, with 176 out of every 1,000 children dying before their fifth birthday, and 615 out of every 100,000 live births resulting in death for the mother.
The International Health Partnership (IHP), launched in September 2007, will
help Burundi to make progress on health by ensuring that the assistance given by
donors is well coordinated and responsive to national priorities. This will
allow the Government to spend more of its time on strengthening the country's
health system, and less time on managing separate aid projects.
Commitment to better healthcare
The
Government of Burundi has made it a top priority to improve the health of the
population and has set out to increase people’s access to quality health
services. In May 2006, realising that patient fees were stopping poor people
from using services, the President scrapped charges for children under five and
women giving birth. The effects of this have been spectacular.
The country has since seen a 42% increase in children receiving health services
and a 61% increase in the number of babies born in hospital. Health centres that
once stood empty are now full of women and children demanding the free medical
care that is their right. And with 80% more women having emergency caesarean
operations to deliver their babies, there should be a significant reduction in
the number of women who die in childbirth.
IHP: Building on recent successes
However, this increase in demand has put considerable pressure on the health
system. To ensure that services keep up with demand, the Government is
working closely with its development partners to improve the management of the
health sector. The priority is to make sure that vital health services
(medicines, workers, equipment and buildings) are readily available
across the country. As an example of this partnership, this year DFID has
contributed £1.5 million of emergency medicines, equipment and training to help the
Government provide free health services, and next year the Government will
procure the necessary drugs.
The impressive results already achieved in the last year indicate that the
Government knows how to reach more of the population with essential healthcare.
The IHP provides a tremendous opportunity for Burundi to use its health aid more
efficiently as it tries to build on these successes and improve the lives of its
people.
Links
- Prime Minister launches new International Health Partnership
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Burundi
Last updated 05 September 2007
