Introducing Integrated Mobile Teams to Burundi: Technical Update

Since 2005, Burundi has shifted from a period of ethnic violence to a politically stabilized, post-conflict context. Bordering Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the country's mountainous landscape is now home to Congolese refugees, returned refugees, and a sizeable population of internally displaced persons. Recognizing the need for integrated packages of basic health services capable of reaching these populations and responding to their expressed needs, in 2011 Pathfinder-Burundi began an innovative service delivery approach. Leveraging its internal expertise and resources, Pathfinder and its partners have introduced integrated mobile teams (IMT) to Burundi. As a mobile platform for delivery of an integrated package of essential health services, IMTs are a "one-stop-shop" ensuring access for these hard-to-reach and underserved populations who otherwise have limited health care options. This update describes the development of the intervention to date.