Darfuri refugees in Chad face severe drinking water crisis

Darfuri refugees in Touloum and Kounongou refugee camps in eastern Chad have been suffering from a severe drinking water crisis for months.

Activist Adam Yousef, youth representative in Touloum camp, hosting tens of thousands of refugees from Darfur, told Radio Dabanga that the owners of the piece of land on which the only nearby water well is located stopped to pump water to the camp two and a half months ago.

The refugees had to drink from pits filled with rainwater, which caused the emergence of diarrhoea, especially among children and the elderly. Yousef also explained that the pits have now dried up because the rains have stopped, which is causing severe thirst throughout the camp.

He appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Chadian government to address the water crisis.

In Kounongou camp, refugees have also been facing great difficulty in obtaining safe drinking water since May, because the worn-out water pumps near the camp have completely stopped working.

The refugees are looking for water in the nearby valley where the animals drink and graze too, causing severe diarrhoea and illness, again especially among children.