Drinking water security challenges in Rohingya refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Date
2020
Authors
Akhter, Mehereen
Uddin, Sayed Mohammad Nazim
Rafa, Nazifa
Hridi, Sanjida Marium
Staddon, Chad
Powell, Wayne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sustainability
Abstract
About a million Rohingyas have fled due to the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar and sought
refuge in Bangladesh. The refugees are located in temporary settlements on hilly areas of Cox’s
Bazar with inadequate water and sanitation facilities, giving rise to diseases such as cholera, typhoid,
and diarrhea. This exploratory study reports drinking water security challenges in two Rohingya
refugee camps within the larger camp network—Camp 2 and the recently-built Camp 4 Extension
(Camp 4Ext)—to discover the key everyday issues refugees are facing related to drinking water.
Both qualitative and quantitative methods have been applied to determining whether contamination is
occurring during the collection, transportation, and storage of drinking water by comparing the water
quality at the source with that in storage. The results show that Camp 4Ext is more suited for living in
several respects compared with the other camps, attributable to significantly better planning during
its construction: there is a lower prevalence of diseases, lower water collection times, higher standards
of sanitation, and better access to water sources. This study’s outcomes will help camp authorities
and the various agencies working there to provide sustainable water and sanitation interventions to
improve the wellness of the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. The outcomes will also provide useful
information and strategic direction to the global scientific and development communities who are
working in refugee camps in other parts of the world, to tackle water security challenges.
Description
Keywords
drinking water, inequalities and insecurity, marginalization, Rohingya, refugee, water security, sanitation, social exclusion
Citation
Akhter, M., Uddin, S. M. N., Rafa, N., Hridi, S. M., Staddon, C., & Powell, W. (2020). “Drinking water security challenges in Rohingya refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.” Sustainability, 12(18), 7325. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187325