Water Shortages Hit Borno IDP Camp

Tens of thousands of people housed in the internally displaced people (IDP) camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, are facing a severe lack of water, aid workers said Monday.

For the past week supplies have been low at the Muna IDP camp after one of its five solar-powered water pumps broke down, AFP has reported.

“We are facing a serious water shortage in the camp,” said camp coordinator Tijjani Lumani, adding that the four other pumps on the sprawling site were “inadequate”.

Muna camp, on the edge of the city, is currently home to some 41,000 people, Lumani said.

The water drawn up from boreholes is used for cooking and, crucially, washing to prevent the spread of disease through the densely populated compound of makeshift tents.

“The water shortage poses a serious health risk to IDP because they may have to turn to other unclean water sources, which exposes them to water-borne infections like cholera and diarrhoea,” said one aid worker involved in sanitation and health projects for IDP living in Maiduguri.

“The situation is more alarming when malnourished children are involved,” said the worker, who asked not to be identified.

Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, confirmed, on Sunday, that there was a “breakdown of water supply” at the camp, but engineers were trying to fix the problem.

“The State Emergency Management Agency has so far supplied 105,000 litres of water using trucks,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.