Sofian Khan
UNICEF is deeply concerned as a recent report by World Health Organization (WHO) suggested 62% of the water drawn from wells at Rohingya Refugee Camps are highly contaminated with E. Coli and other bacterias. From August 25 to November 11, over 36 thousand cases have been reported regarding Acute Watery Diarrhoea(AWD) which includes 10 deaths.Shallow depths and poorly sited congested tube wells inside the refugee camps are not capable to prevent bacterial contamination at ground levels. UNICEF’s recent statement suggested contamination in water and foods are the reasons for the increased infection rate especially among childrens.
UNICEF therefore has started to work with its WASH partners to properly identify the root cause and help prevent more people from being infected. They are constructing deep tube wells following international standards of at least 40 meters to ensure contamination prevention.Since the start of this massive influx, over 6 lakhs of Rohingyas have entered in Bangladesh in the past three months. UNICEF is now providing them with water purifying tablets and campaigns are ensuring better hygiene practices among the Rohingyas in the camp.According to a recent statement given by UNICEF, they are distributing 195,000 litres of water to over 50,000 people a day through water treatment and trucking. Till Wednesday, 420 tube wells have been reported installed and serving pure water to 140000 refugees.