‘Insufficient water provision in majority of Darfur camps’: UN

Five of the nine camps for displaced persons in West Darfur have insufficient water provision with less than the minimum requirement of 15 litres per person per day. This is the outcome of a joint verification assessment of UN agencies, NGOs and the Darfur authorities, according to a report in the Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin.A previous UNICEF mapping in April 2013 indicated that 63 out of 93 hand pumps in the nine camps, which now host more than 100,000 displaced people, are no longer functioning and the vast majority have no access to household or community latrines. In all nine camps surveyed, 20 out of 34 child-friendly spaces remain closed. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin for the period 13 to 19 May 2013 there was an update on an “inter-agency facility mapping initiative” in nine camps in and around Geneina city in West Darfur. The update mentioned that large numbers of hand pumps in nine camps in West Darfur were not functioning and confirmed that many in these camps do not have access to household or communal latrines. On 29 May, a follow-up joint verification assessment was conducted by UNICEF, World Economic Situation (WES), the Public Water Corporation, Islamic Relief, Triangle Generation Humanitaire (TGH), community leaders and OCHA. The assessment found that the level of water provision is only sufficient in four out of nine camps. Sufficient water itself is indeed available from large water yards that contribute to levels of water provision well above the internationally accepted Sphere Standards average of 15 litres per person per day. The water yards in Dorti, Riad and Kerinding 1 camps have respective daily average outputs of 19.5, 17.3 and 24.6 litres per capita. These water yards usually provide for livestock, but they have now been counted as a source for drinking water fit for human consumption. UNICEF along with government and NGO partners says it “continues to respond to the situation”. Overall, of 126 boreholes drilled in the nine camps, 36 have been decommissioned due to water quality problems. 90 have hand pumps installed of which 56 are working and 34 need repair. UNICEF and WES say they have started a rapid response mechanism on repairing the hand pumps. Many of the displaced have been living in these camps for almost seven years. The water/sanitation/hygiene sector is working on an exit strategy to hand over operation and maintenance to the communities to reduce dependency on aid, the UN agencies stated. File photoRelated: UN: more than 50% water pumps broken in West Darfur camps (24 May 2013)