Burundi

Thanks to the Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) association, Burundi will have this year the nation's first paediatric surgeon, Dr. Niyukuri

The government has signalled that it will not allow the recently appointed UN special rapporteur on human rights to enter the nation; the country has been rocked by deadly political violence and a crackdown on dissent around the 2015 national elections

Among the 33 victories for human rights celebrated by Amnesty International is the release of Germain Rukuki, an NGO worker and human rights defender, after 4 years in prison and with over 400.000 callings for his release

The International Women's Cycling Tour of Burundi, the continent's first international women's cycling competition, ends today - five African countries have taken part in the event

Efforts to protect northern lakes in crucial areas such as Kirundo province from desertification are bearing fruit, with fish production increasing, contributing to jobs and community development

The country's first solar array was inaugurated this week, with the help of renewable energy developers Gigawatt Global; the project has increased the country's generating capacity by 10%

One of the last three countries in the world to start inoculating its population against Covid-19, Burundi will receive its first vaccines between now and the first half of November

Olivier Nihimbazwe, a 27-year-old from Gitega and a representative at the recent PreCop26, has reconfirmed his commitment in fighting climate change, specifically to reverse the recurring floods, landslides and soil erosion that are affecting his country

The decision by the Ngozi Court of Appeal to uphold the conviction and 5-year prison sentence for a lawyer who had been affiliated with a human rights group was a "travesty of justice" according to Human Rights Watch and 5 other human rights groups

According to the UN Commission of Inquiry, human rights violations have remained unchanged or worsened since the 2020 election of the president, with acts against members of opposition parties, such as disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture

The country has joined the EAC member states in the AfCFTA - African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which now counts 42 countries and allows states to access a large continental market and increase EAC exports to African countries outside the bloc

The country has entered talks with the African Union to join the African Union's vaccine procurement program

President Évariste Ndayishimiye's efforts for a more media-friendly environment are still far from public expectations such as lift of all media bans and end of convictions of journalists in exile