Thankyou Water

Nakivale's topography and size make the provision and distribution of water a major challenge. UNHCR's minimum standard for water is to supply 20 litres/person/day. Refugees in Nakivale receive an average of 14 litres/person/day with those in outlying areas receiving only 10 litres/person/day. The average walk to water is 2 kilometres, against a UNHCR standard of 200 metres. Some refugees travel up to 5 kilometres for water. Those who resort to drinking untreated water from the nearby lake suffer a high incidence of water-borne diseases and parasitic infections. There have been numerous outbreaks of cholera, the most recent in 2009.

Water is currently pumped from the nearby lake via four purification plants to central water collection points around the settlement. With the help of funding from Thank You Water and other Australian donors UNHCR has recently supplemented this supply through the installation of boreholes, shallow wells and rainwater tanks in Nakivale's outlying 'villages'. Water continues to be trucked in tankers to those areas of the settlement with no safe water supply.