Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict.

We assessed symptoms of psychological distress among a population-based sample of 9000-plus adults in Burundi during (1998) and after (2007) armed conflict. After exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to an 8-item, self-report measure, we identified two domains of psychological distress "Depression/Anxiety" and "Functioning" with good fit to data. The questionnaire was invariant in males and females. Depression and Anxiety symptoms during conflict were more frequently reported than Functioning symptoms; all symptoms were more frequently reported by women. Psychological distress was found in 44 % of individuals during conflict and in 29 % 2 years after the conflict. Results call for further research in Burundi that can inform the development of mental health interventions.

Undernutrition, subsequent risk of mortality and civil war in Burundi.

The paper investigates the effect of child undernutrition on the risk of mortality in Burundi. Using anthropometric data from a longitudinal survey (1998-2007) we find that undernourished children, measured by the height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) in 1998 had a higher probability to die during subsequent years. In order to address the problem of omitted variables correlated with both nutritional status and the risk of mortality, we use the length of exposure to civil war prior to 1998 as a source of exogenous variation in a child's nutritional status. Children exposed to civil war in their area of residence have worse nutritional status. The results indicate that one year of exposure translates into a 0.15 decrease in the HAZ, resulting in a 10% increase in the probability to die. For boys, we find a 0.34 decrease in HAZ per year of exposure, resulting in 25% increase in the probability to die. For girls, the results are statistically not significant at the usual thresholds. We show the robustness of our results and we derive policy conclusion for a nutrition intervention in times of conflict.

Death and survival during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

This paper reports a quantitative study of the genocide in the prefecture of Kibuye in western Rwanda in 1994. It uses a database produced from a house-to-house survey of victims by the organization of genocide survivors, Ibuka. For a total of 59,050 victims of the genocide, data were collected on age, sex, occupation, commune of residence before the genocide, and place and date of death. An analysis conducted for one commune (Mabanza), showed that the chance of surviving the genocide was higher in those sectors of the commune where the Tutsi population did not congregate at a football stadium in Kibuye. Those who went to a mountainous area and defended themselves were almost the only Tutsi still alive in the prefecture after the month of April 1994. Other determinants of survival included age, sex, and occupation. The number of deaths each day while the killing lasted is estimated for the whole of the prefecture.