Living conditions in the Busuma refugee camp, where around 42,000 Congolese refugees are currently living, have improved over the past seven months. The outbreak treatment centre set up by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the camp has not received a single patient since 29 July, whereas during the first three months of the intervention, numerous patients suffering from cholera and measles were treated there. No deaths have been recorded at the centre since March. But despite this improvement, access to essential needs, such as food, shelter and hygiene services, remains insufficient. In a context where humanitarian needs are becoming protracted, it is essential that humanitarian actors continue and intensify their support to refugee populations.
In December 2025, more than 100,000 people had fled violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to seek refuge in Burundi. In the Busuma refugee camp, in the east of the country, 42,000 people are still trying to rebuild their lives, far from home. For more than seven months, these people have been living in makeshift shelters or temporary structures, facing significant challenges, particularly in accessing food and adequate hygiene conditions. Since the beginning of the intervention, MSF has been supporting these people by providing healthcare and access to water.
Baldé Boubacar, a doctor and later MSF’s medical activity manager in Busuma since December 2025, who has witnessed how life in the camp has evolved over the months.
While the camp was home to nearly 66,000 refugees as of 22 April 2026, its population has decreased considerably since then. Every week, repatriation operations organised by the government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) enable around 1,000 people to return home, particularly to the Uvira territory and surrounding areas. These movements have gradually reduced pressure on available services. Access to drinking water has increased from 3 to 16 litres per person per day between January and August, while the availability of shelter has also improved.
Médecins Sans Frontières and its teams provide daily access to primary and secondary healthcare in the camp. Most patients treated suffer from skin and respiratory infections, psychological distress or malnutrition, particularly children, who account for half of the camp’s population. Between January and early August, MSF teams treated 29,349 patients and carried out 654 hospital admissions.
Baldé Boubacar remembers the particularly difficult conditions at the beginning of the intervention. “Between December 2025 and February 2026, our health centre recorded ten deaths, mainly among children under five, but also among older people. Since March, we have not recorded a single death at our facility. Imagine mothers with newborn babies just one or two days old, sleeping in makeshift shelters, sometimes in the mud and under the rain. We felt helpless.”
Medical indicators show an improvement in the health of people living in the camp. During the last week of July, severe cases admitted to our health centre accounted for 0.30% of 970 consultations, compared with 14% of the 1,355 patients seen in mid-January 2026. Between 72% and 74% of patients are classified as green, meaning that they show no signs of serious illness. The number of patients referred to the district hospitals in Ruyigi and Kibuye has also decreased. MSF teams currently make between five and eight referrals per week, compared with as many as 15 to 20 at the beginning of the intervention. Cases of malnutrition have also decreased, reflecting, among other factors, the impact of awareness-raising activities carried out in the camp.
Vanessa Niyonizeye, a psychologist working in the mental health department of the MSF health centre, explains that at the beginning of the intervention, she was seeing more cases of sexual violence, including violence that had occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But the situation remains difficult. “Today, we are seeing patients suffering from anxiety disorders linked to a feeling of insecurity, severe depression accompanied by a sense of hopelessness, psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychiatric care is not available on site, which makes treatment difficult for patients.”
Food and shelter remain among the main needs in the Busuma camp. Léontine Mwamita, 22, arrived in December 2025 with her three-month-old baby. “I am tired of this life, and I do not feel at peace. We are a family of seven. The food we received on 7 July did not last for more than a week.”
Although some essential needs, such as access to water and healthcare, are currently being met, humanitarian actors and the United Nations are facing significant funding challenges. To date, only 30% of the planned humanitarian response has been implemented.
The situation could deteriorate further, leading to another decline in living conditions in the camp.
“Hygiene conditions are critical and the risk of an outbreak is imminent. According to a UNHCR report, there are 156 people per latrine, whereas standards call for a maximum of 20 people per latrine. There are also 320 people per shower, compared with 20 to 30 people according to the standards. Without better access to sanitation infrastructure, we fear the emergence of outbreaks that we have managed to control so far,” warns Sabrine Hamdi, MSF’s project coordinator in Busuma.
