Country Success Story: Burundi

Rehema remembers the fear more than the pain.

At eight months pregnant, living in Busuma refugee site in Burundi, she had already made the journey once, walking for hours under the heat to reach a health facility in another zone. It wasn’t just far. It was exhausting, uncertain, and sometimes impossible.

"I kept thinking… when the time comes, will I make it?” she said."

Busuma had quickly grown into a vast settlement, now home to around 65,000 Congolese refugees fleeing conflict across the border. Among them were more than a thousand pregnant women like Rehema, navigating displacement, uncertainty, and limited access to care. For those living in Zone B, the nearest health facility was too far. Many delayed seeking care. Some gave birth at home. Others took risks they couldn’t afford.

Then something changed.

With support from WISH 2, a new health centre with maternity services opened right in Zone B. It wasn’t just a building. It meant that care was finally within reach. By the time Rehema went into labor, she didn’t have to walk for hours. She didn’t have to choose between safety and distance.

She went to the new facility.

The lights were simple. The space was modest. But the care was there.

"They welcomed me with care and compassion,” she said. “With their support, I gave birth to my baby safely.”

For Rehema, that moment changed everything.

She wasn’t alone. Skilled health providers were there. The risks that come with giving birth without assistance were no longer hers to carry. When her baby cried for the first time, it was not just relief. It was safety, dignity, and a sense of being seen.

Before she left, the staff handed her a small package. A baby kit. Washing powder.

A simple gesture, but one that stayed with her.

"It made me feel cared for,” she said. “I thank them, and I hope they do the same for other women.”

In its first month alone, the facility supported 28 safe deliveries like Rehema’s. It also provided care for survivors of violence, treated infections, and helped dozens of women access family planning for the first time.

But beyond the numbers, the shift is something you feel in the community.

Women no longer wait in fear. Community volunteers move through the settlement, checking on families, guiding them, referring them. There is a system now, one that connects people to care when they need it most.

For Rehema, it comes down to something simple.

"I didn’t have to walk alone.”

And in a place shaped by displacement and uncertainty, that made all the difference.

What happened in Busuma was more than just opening a health facility. For the first time under WISH 2 in Burundi, maternity services were established and made fully operational within a humanitarian setting, bringing safe delivery care closer to women who need it most.

It changed how care is accessed. Women no longer had to travel long distances or take risks during labor. Instead, they could reach skilled providers within their own community, in time, and with dignity. At the same time, this experience became a learning moment for the programme. It offered practical insight into what it takes to run maternity services in fragile contexts, from staffing and clinical organization to building referral systems that actually work when conditions are unpredictable.

It also strengthened how WISH 2 operates.

Closer coordination between health providers, community structures, and programme teams made it possible to respond quickly, adapt when challenges arose, and maintain continuity of care even in a complex humanitarian environment.