As a neighbouring country, Burundi has become a major destination for those fleeing the fighting. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), since early December 2025 more than 100,000 people have fled, increasing the total number of Congolese refugees registered in Burundi to more than 200,000. Many cannot seek refuge in Rwanda because of strained relations between Kigali and Kinshasa.
Moving camps, same hardships
For Denis Nepa, 34, relocating has brought little relief. After leaving Cishemere, he was transferred to the Busuma site in eastern Burundi, which hosts more than 65,000 Congolese refugees according to UNHCR. “Access to clean water is still a serious problem,” he says. Although water trucks deliver water two or three times a week, many refugees are forced to rely on contaminated water from nearby marshes. Diarrhoeal diseases have spread, sometimes with fatal consequences.
At UNHCR, officials acknowledge the severity of the humanitarian situation. Frédérick Cussigh, the agency’s emergency coordinator in Burundi, says plans are underway to improve water access. “A spring-capture system will soon be installed,” he explains. “Our goal is to provide 15 litres of safe water per person per day, compared to the 2.5 litres currently available.”
Burundian authorities have repeatedly requested international support. While the UN appealed for $ 33 million in urgent funding in December, only between $ 6 and 7 million had been made available by the end of January 2026, according to Edouard Bizimana, Burundian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation. Despite the harsh conditions, many refugees hold on to one hope: that the war in eastern Congo will end and allow them to return home. For now, they wait – suspended between a violent past and an uncertain future.
Mireille Kanyange is a journalist and reporter of Radio Isanganiro in Burundi.
mika.kanyange@gmail.com