In urban areas, the arrival of large numbers of people displaced by the armed conflict has increased demand for drinking water. Evelyne lives in a camp for displaced people in Bougouyo, some 80 km from Bambari. She describes her struggle to get safe drinking water: “There’s a river near the camp. Although the water isn’t very clean, we drank it and used it to wash ourselves and the dishes. Our health suffered, as people fell ill with diarrhoea, stomach pains and vomiting. Now we have access to drinking water, but there isn’t enough to go round.”
The situation is no better in the western part of the country. The Central African water distribution and treatment company, SODECA, is working with the ICRC to help people in the market town of Bouar, where both the host community and the people displaced by violence from other parts of the country face a shortage of drinking water. Water-borne diseases, linked to the consumption of contaminated, untreated water, are rife. SODECA does not currently have the human or financial resources to expand its network to meet growing needs or ensure an uninterrupted supply.
The partnership agreement between the ICRC and SODECA aims to improve this situation. To date, 15 neighbourhoods in Bouar have been connected to the water supply network, with other neighbourhoods set to join them soon.
However, SODECA does not operate throughout the whole of the Central African Republic and is only able to meet approximately 30 per cent of the drinking water needs of the country’s six million inhabitants. Remote regions are particularly poorly served, while in urban areas water is often supplied to disadvantaged neighbourhoods through informal networks.
In 2023, ICRC deliveries of fuel, spare parts and water treatment products to SODECA enabled nearly 160,000 people in Bangui and Bouar to access safe drinking water. Moreover, some 60,000 people have regained access to water following repairs to water pumps in seven prefectures affected by armed violence. However, despite our efforts and those of other organizations, much remains to be done.
Source : Icrc
