Burundi

Provision of health care in Burundi has been severely hampered by 41 years of sporadic civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. Although there has been technical democracy since 2003, corruption is still rife and the militant wings of both tribes hold significant influence over policy.

Most healthcare in Burundi is financed out of pocket, and there are no functioning risk pooling mechanisms, either private or public. As a result, mortality rates due to infectious and parasitic diseases are amongst the highest in the world.

The Burundian customs apparatus is one of the most bureaucratic in the world, driving up the time and cost of importing medicines. All classes of imported medicines face tariffs of 15%, making the Burundian government one of the worst offenders on medicine taxation.