Families fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are arriving in Burundi at overcrowded camps with nothing, leaving children hungry, traumatised, and at risk of disease.
BUJUMBURA, Burundi, 29 December 2025 – Families fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are arriving in Burundi at overcrowded camps with nothing, leaving children hungry, traumatised, and at risk of disease, Save the Children said.
Since 6 December, over 84,000 people from South Kivu have crossed into Burundi to escape intensified fighting and shelling, driving up the number of Congolese refugees and asylum-seekers in Burundi to more than 200,000, according to the UN.
Many families made the dangerous journey on foot over three or four days, sleeping in the open and crossing flooded rivers, before arriving exhausted and dehydrated at overcrowded transit centres which provide short-term shelter to displaced people before they move to other, longer-term accommodation.
Acute shortages of food, clean water, sanitation facilities, shelter and healthcare at transit centres are putting children at risk of outbreaks of life-threatening diseases such as cholera. Children have been forced to abandon their education.
The Government of Burundi declared a state of emergency on 17 December.
Rosine*, a mother of seven who fled with her husband, children and younger sister, said they were caught up in the crossfire with explosives landing in her village. She said:
“Explosives started landing in our village. They killed so many people. My neighbour’s house was hit and so many people were killed when the explosives exploded. We counted about 30 people killed.”
As the violence intensified, Rosine’s family fled in panic, leaving behind her business, possessions – and her injured mother.
“We left my mother behind in Congo. She had an accident just before the conflict started and couldn’t run. We don’t know if she is still alive or dead,” she said.
The journey to safety was perilous. To reach Burundi, Rosine’s family had to cross a swollen river as water rose to her chest.
“The water reached my chest. Were it not for my husband, I don’t think we would have made it across. One of my babies was swept away by the waters, but luckily my husband and some other men managed to retrieve her,” she said.
Now sheltering in a transit centre, Rosine* said hunger was her family’s biggest daily struggle.
“My children eat only one meal a day. Sometimes they don’t eat at all because we don’t have water to cook. The tent is small, it floods when it rains, and the children sleep on bare ground. We are suffering a lot.”
Save the Children said women and children are the most affected, arriving exhausted and severely traumatised. According to Rosine* her children are still traumatised by sound of explosives.
“The sound of gunfire and explosives terrified my children. Even now, when something drops, they panic and think the bombing has started again,” Rosine said.
Children who spoke to our team in one of the transit centres said they have been forced to abandon their education. Tina*, 9, who fled with her mother Lucia* and four siblings, said she dreams of returning to school. She said:
“I used to go to school. I was in Grade 3. I love school. When the gunfire started, I was filled with fear. I didn’t carry my books when we fled. I want to continue my education. I want to become a doctor when I grow up.
“There is no food here. The cold is too much. The last time I ate was yesterday.”
Her mother Lucia*, who walked for three days with her children to reach Burundi, said her biggest fear is where their next meal will come from. She told Save the Children:
“We slept along the road with the children, in the rain, with nothing to cover ourselves. My children are getting sick because of the cold, the rain, and the fact that they are not feeding well.”
Geoffrey Kirenga, Save the Children's Head of Mission in Burundi, said:
“Children fleeing the conflict are paying the highest price. They are arriving in Burundi traumatised, hungry and exhausted. Many have witnessed killing, lost family members, and been forced to abandon school overnight.
“Right now, families urgently need food, clean water, safe shelter, healthcare and child-friendly spaces to help children begin to recover from what they have experienced.
“Without immediate additional funding, we risk failing children who have already lost so much. The international community must act now to protect children fleeing this conflict and ensure they are not forgotten.”
Save the Children is working alongside other humanitarian organisations to support families. The aid agency is providing hygiene and sanitary items including kitenges, or pieces of fabric, that can be used to make clothes for children or as sheets. We are also providing other items including undergarments, soap, sanitary towels for girls, pregnant women, mothers with young children and elderly women.
But the scale of needs far outweighs available resources. The Government of Burundi has launched an appeal with the UN and partners aiming to raise over US$33 million to provide humanitarian aid to 90,000 new arrivals over four months but only 10% of this is available.
Save the Children is calling on the international community and donors to urgently scale up funding to meet the lifesaving needs of children and families displaced by the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.
Save the Children has been working in Burundi since 2016 providing services in child protection, prevention and response to gender-based violence, health, child right governance and education. We have a team in Burundi assisting thousands of displaced children and their families.
ENDS
*Names changed to protect anonymity
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Delfhin Mugo, Media Manager – Africa, based in NAIROBI
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