Refugees carrying plastic jerry cans head out to the water tap in Touloum camp to collect water for their daily needs. UNHCR and its partners have struggled to find campsites with sufficient water supply for tens of thousands of refugees in the desert region. © UNHCR/H.Caux

In the hot, harsh desert of Eastern Chad, the UN Refugee Agency is working hard to supply nearly a quarter of a million Sudanese refugees with clean drinking water. But as natural sources dwindle, can the agency keep up with demand where water is extremely scarce?

Ask Abdou Mahaman Dango, a Water and Sanitation Officer with the UN Refugee Agency in Eastern Chad, what happens when people get badly dehydrated. You get a stark answer – he has seen it many times before. “They become weak, very tired and vulnerable to all kinds of illness,” he says. “They’ll drink any water they can get hold of – even dirty water – and many get diarrhea, which makes you lose more water. It can kill you.” Approximately 215,000 Sudanese refugees are crowded into 12 camps scattered along the border with Sudan, seeking safety from violence in their homeland.

Supplying nearly a quarter of a million new arrivals with enough clean water to drink and wash in – and supply it fast – is a truly massive operation. The UN Refugee Agency is doing all it can to find new sources of water to supply both refugees and local people. As water reserves run low, specialist partners are carrying out geological surveys, trying new methods for collecting water – even using satellite remote-sensing technology to locate underground sources.

But it may not be enough. The program urgently needs support to carry on meeting the vital water challenge.

“If we had the resources, we could undertake major new water work,” concludes Abdou. “We could construct dams, water catchments schemes and build pipelines – to supply the camps even if they are some distance away from the water. If we are not able to do this, the limited supply we’re exploiting now will soon be depleted. Wells and boreholes will become dry – and the refugees will get less and less water. There could be a crisis,” he warns.

Ensuring Clean Water & Sanitation for Refugees
Water is life. It is more vital to human survival than food or any other commodity. This PDF document details UNHCR's efforts to secure clean drinking water for refugees, how we use our funding to accomplish this goald, and most importantly - how you can help.
Download PDF (193 KB)

The UN Refugee Agency is proud to work with EarthWater International, a progressive Canadian company, to provide clean water to refugees who have fled persecution and violence and now live in precarious conditions. As you perhaps know, 100% of the net profits from the sale of EarthWater in Canada and the US will be put towards water projects for refugees overseas.