Analysis of the situation of children in Residential Centres in Burundi

The report of this study responds to the objectives of identifying all the residential centres for children in Burundi, including the number of children residing in them; analysing the situation of children living in the centres and developing recommendations for the next steps as recommended by the National Policy on Orphans and Vulnerable children (OVC) in its 2007-2011 Action Plan. In order to measure the quality of care found in the residential centres, the research team adapted the “Standards for the Quality of Care: East and Central Africa”, published by Save the Children in 2005. This study found that there are currently 98 residential centres for children operating in Burundi and new centres continue to be built without permission from appropriate authorities. The majority of centres were not able to achieve even half of the 85 standards used for this study.Considering the need for improvement in conditions and care management, the report also lists out a number of recommendations for the Minister of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender (NSHRG), the Ministry of Interior, UNICEF and the donor community on the development and application of minimum standards for all residential care centres.