From problem comes opportunity: Burundi partner to make life-saving food locally instead of importing it

When USAID paused funding for thousands of global health programs this past February, it sent shockwaves through the global health community and disrupted care for many. In Burundi, the impact was felt quickly as access to medications for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis became uncertain for those who rely on them to stay healthy

Alongside Hope partner Village Health Works (VHW) offers free healthcare in its state-of-the-art, 150-bed women’s health pavilion to Rumonge and Bururi provinces, though people come from all over the country. VHW relies on USAID funding to cover the aforementioned drugs, as well as to pay for Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food (RUTF), a peanut butter-based porridge that works wonders to treat malnourished babies and children.

Three packets of the nutrient- and protein-rich paste a day can help turn an emaciated and wasting baby into a round and thriving one in eight weeks. When VHW’s supply of RUTF, manufactured in the United States by the aptly named Mana, was no long being delivered, Dr. Jennifer Furin described the situation in an essay in TIME magazine that went viral: “Last week, I was struck by the hollowed eyes and scooped-out belly of a four-year-old boy. He weighs just 17 pounds. He was so weak, he could not hold his head up when I examined him. We are doing our best to care for this child, but before rounds started, the nurse on the ward pulled me aside to whisper that we were down to our last 20 packets of ready-to-use therapeutic food. … There are many more children who need it on the ward right now. All the training in the world did not prepare me to figure out this math.”

But sometimes a problem comes in the shape of an opportunity, says Deogratias “Deo” Niyizonkiza, the energetic and inspiring founder and CEO of VHW. Born and raised in Burundi, Niyizonkiza fled to the United States during the civil war in the 1990s and attended Columbia University in New York. He returned home with a vow to bring quality health care to his community. Alongside Hope partnered with VHW from 2016 to 2021 on the All Mothers and Children Count program, funded in part by the Government of Canada.

VHW recognized that rather than depend on imported RUTF, it could locally source the raw ingredients – peanuts or ground nuts, soy, powdered milk, sugar and oil. The RUTF is also fortified with vitamins and minerals, which can also be sourced outside the U.S. VHW will follow the example of aid organizations in Uganda and Ethiopia that produce their own RUTF and create a social enterprise business that will provide jobs and livelihood, as well as end reliance on imported therapeutic foods in the process.

“I cannot tell you how excited I am to be building this collaboration with Alongside Hope,” said Niyizonkiza. “To be able to produce our own peanut porridge is so important to addressing the issue of malnutrition that has been decimating the children of Burundi.”

VHW submitted its proposal to produce Magara Meza – which means living well – to Alongside Hope’s newly hatched Resilience Fund in April. “Our goal is to build a community-owned, scalable production model that not only meets VHW’s internal demand but also creates jobs, supports local farmers, and lays the groundwork for national provision of RUTF,” said their submission.

Days after Alongside Hope agreed to an initial grant of $35,000, a donor came forward with $250,000 to match donations made to the Resilience Fund. Alongside Hope boosted its support for VHW’s bold plan to $140,000.

“Whenever there’s a problem, it can be – the way I see it – an opportunity to come up with a lasting solution,” says Niyizonkiza. “This collaboration will really change a lot the ways we used to do things. Relying on what is produced locally and what is grown locally is just the way it is supposed to be done.”

In 2024, 56% of children under five in Burundi suffered from chronic malnutrition, 6% experienced acute malnutrition and 29% were underweight. “This initiative will replace our current reliance on imported RUTF for the 1,354 children we treated for malnutrition in 2024 – a number we expect to increase to 2,166 children in 2025 due to growing food insecurity and increased patient volume from the ongoing refugee crisis.” Besides potentially fatal short-term effects, malnutrition can also have devastating long-term effects on children. A lack of vitamins and minerals at a young age affects brain development and can lead to intellectual problems, decrease their ability to interact with community members, and eventually earn a living. The Magara Meza project has it sights on the long-term, reducing malnutrition rates, lowering child mortality, and improving developmental outcomes across VHW’s service area and neighbouring communities, and eventually the entire country.

Farmers are already planting new crops of nuts, and a space for the new production facility on the VHW campus has been allocated. Burundi’s Ministry of Health is also on board, which will ensure it can be replicated in other parts of the country. Much of Alongside Hope’s funding will support the cost of training local people to run and own a social enterprise business.

VHW plans for Magara Meza to be in full production by 2026. Until then, health care volunteers travelling to Burundi are hiding RUTF packets in their luggage, and Mana is sending a shipment of RUTF to Village Health Works to address immediate needs.

How you can help:

Please pray for everyone who is affected by these devastating cuts to USAID, and the children of Burundi.

Give to the Resilience Fund online, or by phone at 1-866-308-7973. Or you can mail a cheque to Alongside Hope, 80 Hayden Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate “Resilience Fund” in the memo field. Gifts made before June 30, 2025 will be matched, up to $250,000.