BURUNDI
Anthrologica was commissioned by the World Food Programme (WFP) to contribute to the design and adaptation of financial training for the Merankabandi social protection programme in Burundi, targeting low-income and highly vulnerable populations in refugee and displacement-affected contexts. The programme deliberately centred women, many of whom faced intersecting vulnerabilities related to displacement, food insecurity, and limited access to formal financial systems. A formative research phase was undertaken to understand the lived financial realities of participants, exploring intra-household decision-making, gendered control over resources, informal savings practices, income variability, and the social norms shaping women's economic participation. Particular attention was paid to women in refugee communities, whose financial strategies were shaped by precarity, restricted mobility, and reliance on informal networks. The findings directly informed the adaptation of UNHCR/WFP budgeting, debt management, and savings modules, alongside existing Merankabandi inclusive production modules. The resulting financial training programmes are contextually grounded, inclusive of the most vulnerable women, and designed to be applicable and scalable across similar fragile and displacement-affected settings.