To respond to the Shelter and Non-Food Items (SNFI) needs of communities affected by humanitarian crises in the country, IOM will provide emergency assistance to IDPs, as well as to Burundian returnees. In this regard, activities will include but are not limited to:

• Provision of safe and dignified shelter solutions (including semi-permanent shelters and shelter repair kits) to the targeted households. Priority will be given to those with specific needs for assistance. Depending on the context, the assistance will be in-kind or in cash. This activity will aim to improve the safety, privacy, and dignity of the living conditions of the people targeted, taking into account housing, land, and property (HLP) considerations. Items for in-kind shelter assistance will be procured both nationally and internationally. The content of the kits will be in line with the SNFI sector’s recommendations in the country.
• Provision of NFI kits in-kind or in cash to newly displaced persons and persons in protracted displacement situations, according to needs and context assessments.
• Provision of rental support for households affected by natural hazards.
• Implementation of Communication with Communities (CwC) activities: SNFI assistance will be complemented with sensitization on the kit distributions.
• Provision of emergency assistance to vulnerable families living in critical or substandard shelters in informal sites and areas of return, through in-kind or cash transfers for standard NFI kits.
• Coordination of the SFNI sector cash-based interventions.

IOM will provide site management support to the Government of Burundi in the Bujumbura area, as well as along the southern coastal region of Rumonge. Activities will include:

• Co-coordination of the CCCM task force at the country level along with the Ministry of Solidary and UNHCR to facilitate timely and appropriate service delivery to the displaced populations.
• Improvement of living conditions in sites through site maintenance, critical upgrades, and risk reduction interventions, with a focus on safeguarding the protection of site populations.
• Working alongside the Government of Burundi in the event of a closure of IDP sites to ensure that displaced communities can exercise their rights and that the voluntary aspect of relocations is at the center of the Government actions.
• Promotion of community participation and community engagement mechanisms to ensure accountability to affected populations in the sites.
• Coordination of all actors in sites through the CCCM task force for improved access to quality services.
• Capacity-building of government actors on CCCM and promotion of well-planned and dignified site consolidation and closing processes, and respect for IDPs' right of movement, including voluntary return.

IOM will support IDPs, returnees and host communities to improve safe and dignified living conditions through safe water, sanitation, and hygiene activities. IOM will aim to reduce the risk of WASH-related diseases by improving hygiene behaviours and access to WASH services in accordance with the Sphere standards through the following activities:

• Provision of hygiene kits including household water treatment products and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) items for girls and women of reproductive age, for which the composition will be in line with national recommendations.
• Provision of dignified sanitation solutions to IDPs and Burundian returning refugees/returnees through community-based construction of ecological or ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines equipped with hand-washing systems. This activity is complementary to the provision of shelters.
• Promotion of improved hygiene practices among the supported households and communities through targeted sensitizations on topics such as hand washing, environmental cleaning, latrine maintenance, safe chain for the collection and storage of drinking water.

IOM Burundi’s protection programme (including counter-trafficking) aims to identify the most vulnerable cases and survivors of trafficking/exploitation/GBV among emergency settings, crisis-affected communities and populations (IDPs, returnees, host communities) and provide them with immediate life-saving and long-term support. In addition, IOM will be supporting the government in providing rapid emergency identification to guide direct assistance to vulnerable people (data will be shared in the National Data Toll to be used for beneficiary selection, vulnerability targeting, and programming). Activities will include:

• Provision of individual protection assistance and case management, including identification, referral for immediate help, counselling and psychological first aid (PFA) to vulnerable populations and victims of trafficking (VoTs) in crisis contexts.
• Community engagement and sensitization in emergency settings, camps and out-of-camp locations.
• Establishment of safe areas/tents for at-risk/vulnerable children and women; women safe spaces and child-friendly spaces.
• Protection mainstreaming in all IOM’s interventions and activities shared by related sections and provided by specialists/practitioners.
• Capacity building of IOM and implementing partners’ (IP) staff on immediate protection risk response.
• Coordinating with protection sector partners on cases of TIP, GBV and other vulnerabilities to ensure access to justice and support.
• Training of protection and CT actors, community and shelter authorities, police, judiciary and magistrates, on ethical and safe ways of handling and referring disclosures of GBV incidents, protection risks and their mitigation.
• Training on data protection management of vulnerable cases, GBV and VoT, children and other specific cases for humanitarian workers.
• Support the government to develop a national protection framework.​​​​​​
• Establish a national response mechanism for protection risks and hazards in an emergency context.
• Support with data collection, management, and analysis of vulnerable profiles, needs and risks for reporting purposes and distribution of tailored assistance (anonymous IOM database, CT Commission Data Collection tool).
• Coordination of the anti-trafficking working group within the protection sector.

IOM will work closely with government counterparts, civil society and key health partners to improve the MHPSS services provided to vulnerable migrants, including crisis-affected populations. IOM will encourage the implementation of activities that strengthen the peaceful coexistence and social cohesion of communities most affected by displacement, with high vulnerability and in need of direct mental health and psychosocial support. IOM will also support the country’s efforts to integrate mental health services in the Burundi health system by supporting the government. Activities will include:

• Direct mental health and psychosocial support provided through individual and group counselling, as well as psychoeducation.
• Provision of clinical psychological consultations by IOM’s psychologists’ mobile team.
• Training of community health workers (CHWs), nurses, medical doctors in mental health and psychosocial support.
• Facilitation of a supervision mission for officials from the central level to evaluate the progress of the integration of MH in Burundi’s health system.
• Provision of health and non-health material equipment such as toys, educative and recreative items to health facilities to improve their capacity to treat people with mental health conditions.
• Provision of psychosocial support for returning people, their families and vulnerable host communities in situations of psychological distress.
• Provision of basic recreative items such as paint and toys to improve the capacity of PoEs to provide mental health and psychosocial support to travellers who tested positive for COVID-19.
• Organization of participatory community dialogues between returnees, IDPs and host community members to identify and prioritize needs.

IOM will collaborate with the Ministry of Public Health, specifically with the Emergency Operator Centre, to sensitize decision makers at the central and intermediate health system level on the necessity of the integration of migrant health in the existing health care provision mechanisms so migrants and mobile populations in need of health care seen at points of entry can be assisted.

Burundi hosts migrants from various regions where different languages are spoken. Health care providers will be trained on how to provide migrant-centred health services to ensure the specific needs of the migrants are addressed. Health authorities will be trained on migration-sensitive approach so as migrants needs and responses are incorporated in strategic documents, including financing, policies, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to insure equitable access to services that are financially and physically accessible, and acceptable to all patients – for example, non-discriminatory and responsive to their gender, cultural and linguistic needs, and are scientifically and medically appropriate. In addition, non-health personnel will be trained on their role in cross-border disease surveillance. They will not replace health personnel, but they will be capacitated to inform competent authorities whenever they see a traveller with health issues. Activities will include:

Improved security conditions have contributed to the voluntary return of a considerable number of Burundian refugees from neighbouring countries to their communities of origin. However, most areas of return are characterized by a lack of resources and employment opportunities, which can pose a challenge to reintegration and lead to tensions between returnees and host communities. IOM will support community stabilization in areas of return through the provision of Community-Based-Planning platforms such as spaces for community-dialogues for dialogue and peaceful engagement, short-term job opportunities and livelihood support with the aim of fostering socioeconomic stability and social cohesion within communities of return. The activities will include:

• Community-based initiatives to foster dialogue and peaceful cohabitation between IDPs, returnees and host communities and to improve access to public infrastructure.
• Cash-for-work and income-generating activities (IGA) activities to support socio-economic stability, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable persons such as women heads of households.
• Sharing information to identify and demonstrate stability in areas of return. The aim is to understand which factors influence a location's stability in order to identify priority interventions for transition and recovery, with the goal of strengthening resilience and stability in climate change and displacement-affected areas. Discussions are underway with partners to start the first exercise at the end of 2022. Further discussions have been initiated with OCHA to see how this new approach could be used to complement analyses of the impact of climate change in the areas.
•  Utilization of IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) stability index mechanism.

The recurring natural hazards and economic hardships in Burundi are causing cycles of protracted internal displacement in the country. Affected populations require support in achieving durable solutions to displacement, whereby they no longer have any specific assistance and protection needs linked to their displacement. IOM will contribute to address the main barriers to achieving durable solutions for IDPs, in particular in terms of adequate standards of living and access to livelihoods. This will be done through a coherent development-oriented approach based on the findings from the Stability Index, including through:

• Data Collection and analysis on protracted disaster displacement and causes of instability through the stability index exercise to identify potential areas for durable solutions as well as the specific needs in each community.
• Improvement of access to safe, dignified, and sustainable housing, including through rental support and financial inclusion training.
• Provision of appropriate, safe, and durable sanitation solutions through the construction of ecological family latrines equipped with hand washing systems.
• Building local capacities of host community members and displaced populations on safe and DRR techniques.
• Improvement of access to basic services through the rehabilitation of key community infrastructure, including roads, markets, water points, health centres and schools using a Cash-for-Work modality.
• Support to IDPs, returnees and host communities to achieve sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship and vocational skills trainings and provision of start-up kits or cash grants.
• Support to the Government of Burundi, including coordination of WG on HLP, in engaging with displaced and local communities on HLP issues and raising awareness on challenges pertaining to land access through community-based sensitization sessions, capacity-building of communal land services, and digitalization of land certificates archives.

The context of an ongoing economic crisis, lack of livelihood opportunities, insufficient access to basic services, migration flows, and remaining tensions from previous socio-political crises, make Burundi particularly fragile to recurring conflict and violence at the local level. To decrease the risks of outbreaks of community-level conflict and violence and to foster sustainable development, IOM will support peacebuilding and conflict prevention at the regional, national and community levels in areas affected by displacement by:

• Strengthening the capacities of relevant local actors, such as local leaders, civil society, women and youth, and informal conflict resolution mechanisms, in conflict prevention, mediation and peaceful resolution.
• Sensitization activities on conflict resolution and peaceful cohabitation in communities with large numbers of returnees and IDPs.
• Implementing socio-cultural activities including theatres, traditional dancing and singing, and friendly competitions to foster trust and social ties between different social groups including returnees, IDPs and host community members.
• Facilitating regional harmonization of Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Reintegration, and Resettlement (DDR/RR) structures, policies, and mechanisms, and strengthening the conceptualization and operationalization of national and community-based DDR/RR approaches.
• Facilitating the reintegration of ex-combatants through dialogues, capacity building, awareness raising and inclusive reparations and cultural activities to prepare local authorities and communities for the return of ex-combatants and their families from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

IOM’s support intends to address the impact of crises resulting in displacement of people by strengthening the limited capacity of Burundi’s health system. The most affected zones will be mapped out and supported with trainings and materials to deliver essential emergency health services. Additionally, health districts most affected by diseases with epidemic potential will be supported to strengthen community surveillance of communicable diseases. New technologies will be utilized to improve disease surveillance by delocalizing emergency operators in cross-border health districts. The following activities will be implemented:

• Support to five emergency operation centres in cross-border provinces with the provision of information technology equipment, internet connections and other logistical support for early detection and response to diseases with public health concerns.
• Advanced public health emergency management training, including cross-border disease surveillance and outbreak response, with cross-border emergency response simulations, and exercises with border countries for health workers and other first responders.
• Establish cross-border public health emergency management committees with neighbouring countries.
• Organize cross-border coordination meetings with neighbouring countries.
• Organize two cross-border trainings on cross-border disease surveillance for health workers from cross-border localities involving health-care providers from Burundi and its neighbouring countries.  
• Organize the mapping of public health risks in targeted provinces.
• Rehabilitate PoEs to comply with infection, prevention and control (IPC) standards and limit disease transmission in PoEs;
• Provide monthly basic equipment, such as disinfectants, soap and PPE, to PoEs to meet the standards of prevention and control of infections.
• Train and equip community health workers from cross-border health districts to effectively engage in community event-based surveillance (CEBS).
• Provide technical and financial support to Health Districts representatives to provide monthly training supervision to the CHWs and conduct investigations of suspected cases.

IOM will improve the existing disaster preparedness and response capacities at the national and local levels to more easily identify resilience-related issues and develop practical solutions to reduce disaster risks in the country. Specifically, IOM’s interventions under this objective will include the following:

• Development of minimum preparedness actions such as multi-hazards early warning systems to facilitate community-based early actions aiming at minimising the impacts of imminent disasters.
• Development of emergency family plans to guide actions before, during and after a disaster event in coordination with the Local Red Cross.
• Implementation of small-scale community-based mitigation initiatives to reduce the vulnerabilities of disaster-prone communities.
• Support national authorities in the development of evacuation and relocation plans in the most disaster-prone communities.
• NFI kits prepositioning.

IOM will strengthen the capacities of vulnerable communities, and national and local authorities to better prevent new disaster risks, reduce existing risks and manage residual risks, which contributes to strengthening resilience. Interventions under this component will include:

• Capacity building activities on Migration, Environment, Climate Change and Risk Reduction.
• Implementation of mitigation activities including reforestation, terraces, ravine treatment in the sub-watershed of most disaster-prone communities.
• Development of evidence-based approaches to achieve intended risk reduction outcomes.

IOM will also strengthen disaster response information generation capacities at the national and local levels to better identify resilience-related issues and develop practical solutions to reduce disaster risk in the country with the following activities:

• Data collection in a way that allows for the identification of trends and to produce analyses.

IOM will support the government to prepare to respond to public health threats, especially diseases with epidemic potential (EVD and COVID-19) in natural hazards-prone areas. In cross-border areas, IOM will strengthen the health districts’ capacity for preparedness and readiness to respond to potential disease epidemics with the following activities:

• Support the health districts to develop contingency plans to respond to public health threats.
• Organize trainings for health workers to respond to health consequences of natural hazards.
• Support health facilities with equipment and PPE to strengthen their capacity to respond quickly to public health threats resulting from natural hazards.
• Rehabilitate primary healthcare facilities,
• Conduct population mobility mapping (PMM) focusing on internal and cross-border population mobility and flows and link the results to public health risks to inform planning.

IOM will support the government in its process of integrating mental health in national primary health care through:

• Creation and capacity building of PSS groups.
• Revitalize MHPSS technical working group by organizing regular meetings and organizing capacity building for governmental members.
• Support the Ministry of Health (MoH) to avail the protocols and guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions in cross-border health facilities.
• Train nurses stationed at PoEs located in the targeted provinces on psychological first aid (PFA) and MHPSS in the context of disease with epidemic potential.

While IOM has already developed a nationwide mapping of five major hazards including torrential rains, floods, landslides, winds and earthquakes, and risks that affect the lives, properties, available services, livelihoods, and the environment of communities in Burundi, there remain significant needs to disseminate the risk mapping results at the national and local levels to facilitate evidence-based and efficient crisis response.

As such, under this component, IOM will implement: 

• Capacity-building activities targeting national and local disaster response authorities to ensure that the existing risk profile is taken into consideration in the planning and implementation of crisis response.

As the main provider of reliable data on displacement and returns in Burundi, assessing intentions and barriers to return and providing an overview of the conditions in areas of return and displacement, IOM will continue to:

• Collect data through IOM’s focal points, using 850 Red-Cross volunteers deployed across Burundi, and interview key informants utilizing a well-established network of over 4,000 key informants (community leaders, chief-collinaire, local authorities)
• Disseminate disaggregated information and thematic reports on the number of IDPs and returnees at the province, commune and hills levels, shelter type, period of displacement, IDPs areas of origin, returnee’s areas of last displacement, intentions and barriers to return, and severity of conditions in areas of return, to inform programmatic interventions.
• Develop Emergency Tracking Tools for sudden displacements country-wide (such as disaster, flood, violent winds) and produce ad hoc Emergency Tracking reports, providing timely data on the number of individuals displaced due to emerging crises.
• Produce the Stability Index, providing key information and analysis on conditions of stabilization; and the Multi Sectorial Location Assessments, providing an in-depth look into IDPs and returnees, focusing on profiling the locations in which these groups live.