Taxonomic results of the Bryotrop expedition to Zaire and Rwanda : 4., a preliminary check-list of the Hepaticae and Anthocerotae from Central Africa (Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi)

A check-list of the Hepaticae and Anthocerotae from Central Africa (Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi) is presented. 267 liverwort species and 4 hornworts are recognized for the area. For Zaire 215 Hepaticae and 3 species of Anthocerotae are recorded. In Rwanda 150 liverworts and one hornwort have been found. Burundi is far less known and only 48 Hepaticae are recorded

HIV/AIDS and Conflict: Micro Evidence from Burundi

This paper studies the relationship between civil war and HIV/AIDS in Burundi. It contributes to the empirical literature by providing micro level evidence using an identification strategy based on original data on the dynamics of rebel movements. The presence of exit and entry points from and to rebel safe havens is used to generate exogenous variation in conflict intensity. These points are plausibly assumed to serve as starting or end points for rebel attack, but are not directly related to HIV/AIDS or correlated with unobservables. The case of Burundi provides fruitful grounds of analysis, as seroprevalence rates are heterogeneous across the country, the serological and conflict data for Burundi is of good quality and conclusions are likely to serve as valuable insights in Burundi and other fragile countries with similar HIV/AIDS policy agendas. OLS, instrumental variable and binary response model results indicate that within provinces in Burundi there is no clear-cut relationship between local conflict intensity and seroprevalence, condom knowledge and use, knowledge of test opportunities and actual test taking, or rape. Findings suggest that although HIV/AIDS is a general development priority, it is not as urgent a post-conflict priority as commonly assumed.HIV, AIDS, Civil War, Instrumental Variables, Burundi

The Burundi Heart Centre: From concept to design.

Burundi is one of the worlds poorest nations, which is also reflected in its relative lack of cardiac facilities, particularly those catering to young children and adults. The authors discuss current efforts to build The Burundi Heart Centre to help address this challenge. In particular, they highlight how the project can act as a case study for a sustainable architecture that involves local people and uses locally available materials in a contemporary and innovative way

Etude Sur la Stratégie et le Programme D'appui à la Société Civile Burundaise

The author study's strategies and programs to build civil society in Burundi

Achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality in rural Africa: an experience from Burundi.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the reduction in maternal mortality associated with the emergency obstetric care provided by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and to compare this to the fifth Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality. METHODS: The impact of MSF's intervention was approximated by estimating how many deaths were averted among women transferred to and treated at MSF's emergency obstetric care facility in Kabezi, Burundi, with a severe acute maternal morbidity. Using this estimate, the resulting theoretical maternal mortality ratio in Kabezi was calculated and compared to the Millennium Development Goal for Burundi. RESULTS: In 2011, 1385 women from Kabezi were transferred to the MSF facility, of whom 55% had a severe acute maternal morbidity. We estimated that the MSF intervention averted 74% (range 55-99%) of maternal deaths in Kabezi district, equating to a district maternal mortality rate of 208 (range 8-360) deaths/100 000 live births. This lies very near to the 2015 MDG 5 target for Burundi (285 deaths/100 000 live births). CONCLUSION: Provision of quality emergency obstetric care combined with a functional patient transfer system can be associated with a rapid and substantial reduction in maternal mortality, and may thus be a possible way to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 in rural Africa

Methodological innovations in estimating the (inverse) relationship between farm productivity and farm size in a developing economy: a case study of Burundi

We use a nonparametric estimation of the production function to investigate the relationship between farm productivity and farming scale in poor smallholder agricultural systems in the north of Burundi. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a predominant small scale subsistence farming sector. A Kernel regression is used on data of mixed cropping systems to study the determinants of production including different factors that have been identified in literature as missing variables in the testing of the inverse relationship such as soil quality, location and household heterogeneity. Household data on farm activities and crop production was gathered among 640 households in 2007 in two Northern provinces of Burundi. Four production models were specified each with different control variables. For the relatively small farms, we find clear evidence of an inverse relationship. The relatively large farms show a different pattern. Returns to scale are found to be farm scale dependent. Parametric Cobb-Douglass models tend to over-simplify the debate on returns to scale because of not accounting for the different effects of large farms. Other factors that significantly positively affect production include the soil quality and production orientation towards banana or cash crop production. Production seems to be negatively affected by field fragmentation.inverse relationship, farm size, nonparametric, Burundi, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, D24, O13, Q12, Q18,

The cost effectiveness of integrated care for people living with HIV including antiretroviral treatment in a primary health care centre in Bujumbura, Burundi

The incremental cost effectiveness of an integrated care package (i.e., medical care including antiretroviral therapy (ART) and other services such as psychological and social support) for people living with HIV/AIDS was calculated in a not-for-profit primary health care centre in Bujumbura run by Society of Women against AIDS-Burundi (SWAA-Burundi), an African non-governmental organisation (NGO). Results are expressed as cost-effectiveness ratio 2007, constant US$per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. Unit costs are estimated from the NGO's accounting data and activity reports, healthcare utilisation is estimated from the medical records of a cohort of 149 patients. Effectiveness is modelled on the survival of this cohort, using standard calculation methods. The incremental cost of integrated care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Bujumbura health centre of SWAA-Burundi is 258 US$ per DALY averted. The package of care provided by SWAA-Burundi is therefore a very cost-effective intervention in comparison with other interventions against HIV/AIDS that include ART. It is however, less cost effective than other types of interventions against HIV/AIDS, such as preventive activities

The Impact of Violent Conflict on Child Health: What Are the Channels?

Child health during and after violent conflicts has been a priority for both policymakers and academics, as ill-health in early life can be impossible to make up for in later life, and has important effects on education and adult wages. In order for policy interventions to mitigate health impacts, it is essential to understand the channels through which conflict impacts on child health. This briefing uses empirical results of research in Burundi and Rwanda to identify these channels. It outlines the policy implications of these findings, arguing that policymakers should prioritise interventions to rebuild agricultural capacity and improve sanitation conditions and nutrition in displacement camps.violent conflict; child health; Burundi; Rwanda; policy

Death rates from malaria epidemics, Burundi and Ethiopia.

Death rates exceeded emergency thresholds at 4 sites during epidemics of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Burundi (2000-2001) and in Ethiopia (2003-2004). Deaths likely from malaria ranged from 1,000 to 8,900, depending on site, and accounted for 52% to 78% of total deaths. Earlier detection of malaria and better case management are needed

Development cooperation with middle-income countries

Only flows to countries that are on the DAC list of recipients can be labelled Official Development Assistance (ODA). The countries on that list however are a mixed bag. Based on a World Bank classification, the DAC list for instance includes Burundi, with an income per capita in 2009 of $150, and Brazil, with an income per capita in 2009 of$ 8840. Burundi, on this count, is 59 times poorer than Brazil. And there is not just income. Burundi is small, landlocked, politically and institutionally unstable, with an unimpressive record in terms of economic growth, a modest player in Africa and an insignificant player in the world. Brazil by contrast is huge, rich in natural resources, technologically sophisticated, growing fast, ambitious, and a major player on the world scene. Recently, it has even started to think about setting up its own aid agency (The Economist, 2011a). How more heterogeneous can one get? One can pick similar contrasting pairs from the DAC list, such as DRCongo and China, or Niger and India. How much aid, in pursuit of which development objectives, addressing which constraints in which sectors, using which modalities and channels: surely no single strategy can fit such dissimilar realities. What constitutes a sensible donor strategy in one country may be very inadequate in another. A differentiated strategy is called for.