Burundi is a country that struggles with health care access and resources for people with disabilities. It has staggering poverty rates, with “87% of the population living below the World Bank’s poverty measure,” according to the U.S. Department of State.

Disability and Poverty in Burundi

With only 14.78% of its population living in urban areas, Burundi is the least urbanized country in Africa. As such, Burundi relies on small-scale farming to maintain its economy. This means that financial well-being is directly connected to physical ability. For many Burundians who experience limitations, this way of life makes it extremely difficult to support themselves.

While the exact metrics for Burundians with disabilities have not been adequately documented, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 10-15% of any given country’s population experiences some form of disability. Due to the country’s limited health care system, many Burundians with physical disabilities are not being adequately treated or given solutions to compensate for a lack of mobility, which makes them unable to work.

In an economy that values labor as a commodity, disability is synonymous with poverty, and the statistics support this. According to the National Library of Medicine, “68% of men and 75% of women with disability were affected by multidimensional poverty compared to 54% and 46% of their peers without disability.”

Emerging Solutions

In 2014, Burundi ratified the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Burundian Constitution was revised to include Article 22, which “reaffirms the protection and equality of everyone before the law and that no one may be subject to discrimination, including, among others, on the ground of disability.”

Legislation like this is a tremendous step in the right direction to ensure that Burundians with disabilities can dispel stigma and discrimination to open up opportunities for themselves in the workforce. Financial stability is an important component of ensuring that people with disabilities are afforded the same respect as nondisabled persons.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is also striving to improve the treatment of those with disabilities in Burundi. With a specific focus on youth, the organization makes it its mission to study how children with disabilities face social exclusion, barriers to equal education, and inaccessibility to social services. Furthermore, its strategy is to prepare the next generation to be more inclusive and understanding of their peers.

Conclusion

Efforts from both the government and organizations like UNICEF protect the rights of people living with a disability and in poverty in Burundi, while challenging the discrimination that hinders social acceptance. 

– Zoey Kartchner

Zoey is based in Tempe, AZ, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr