A High Price to Pay: Detention of Poor Patients in Burundian Hospitals

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A patient and her child detained at the Roi Khaled Hospital in Bujumbura, Burundi. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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A patient detained at the Prince Regent Charles Hospital. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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A patient detained at the Prince Regent Charles Hospital. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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A boy detained at the Roi Khaled Hospital. His father, who is a farmer and cannot pay the bill for surgery, is staying with him. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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This newborn boy urgently needed surgery after birth. As the mother could not pay for it, she and the baby got detained the Roi Khaled Hospital. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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A young mother and her newborn baby detained at the Roi Khaled Hospital following a cesarean section. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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Three-year-old Mohamed S. was burnt badly all over his body. When Human Rights Watch met him he had been detained in Roi Khaled Hospital for six weeks. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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Albert H. was hurt in a car accident and sustained injuries to his eye and left arm. When he could not pay the bill, he was detained at the Prince Regent Charles Hospital. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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Flix M. has been detained in Prince Regent Charles Hospital for over one year, after having already spent a year there for treatment for a serious leg injury. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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At the Prince Louis Rwagasore Clinic, detainees are held in a separate room with a guard at the door. At the time of Human Rights Watch’s visit, the room held about 20 people. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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A young mother and her newborn baby, detained at the Prince Louis Rwagasore Clinic following a caesarean section. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
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A young mother and her newborn baby, detained at the Prince Louis Rwagasore Clinic following a caesarean section. © 2006 Jehad Nga 387759
Burundian hospitals in 2005 detained hundreds of indigent patients, sometimes in inhumane conditions. Many of those detained were women giving birth who unexpectedly needed caesarian deliveries. In some cases, hospital authorities refused further medical care to those who could not pay their bills and forced them to vacate their beds for wealthier incoming patients.
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