Ending Rohingya’s struggle for clean water in refugee settlements


Jameelah and Mohammed spent days without water before they reached the Rohingya refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar. Now, their emergency shelter is right next to an IOM-built well, which provides them with clean water to drink, cook and wash with. In just two months, over 600,000 refugees sought safety in Cox’s Bazar putting pressure on sources of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities. IOM and partners are working to ensure greater access to quality services through the building and maintaining of wells, latrines and dams, as well as, water trucking. IOM also provides hygiene kits to Rohingya refugees and informs them on good sanitation practices in the settlements to prevent disease outbreaks.

IOM’s water, sanitation and hygiene activities in the Cox’s Bazar’s makeshift settlements are funded by the governments of South Korea and Canada, the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.