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  • Wendy Tisdell

Refugees in Uganda Don't Have Clean Water

Updated: Sep 16

Uganda's Water Crisis

Uganda is confronted with many issues that adversely affect public health. Amongst these, poor access to clean, reliable water for a large part of the population poses an enormous challenge. It is probable that as recently as 2020, approximately 18-22% of Uganda’s people could not access potable water supplies.


A large part of the population relies on unprotected surface water instead of secure and clean groundwater resources for drinking, cooking, washing, and general living. This situation isn’t viable as much of the surface water is collected from ponds, puddles and creeks, which are often contaminated and semi-permanent at best.


Uganda has excellent reserves of quality, clean and sustainable groundwater. But unfortunately, these resources have not been developed on a sufficient scale to meet the needs of its people.  This is why BridgIT Water Foundation has a program in Uganda, working to build wells in rural villages.


BridgIT Water Foundation's Water Supply Projects

BridgIT is based in Brisbane, Australia, and manages, coordinates and funds the projects through donations of grants, corporate sponsorship and private funders.


BridgIT work with local community-based partners at our country locations and are committed to addressing the global water crisis by implementing sustainable water supply solutions in rural communities that lack access to clean and safe water.


In Uganda, BridgIT has been particularly active recently in refugee settlements, where access to water is a critical issue. Through its innovative water supply programs, BridgIT is not only addressing immediate water needs but also fostering long-term sustainability in Uganda’s refugee settlements. Suubi regularly checks in on the wells we have already build, and Wendy, BridgIT’s founding director, travels to visit our sites and build relationships with beneficiary communities.


By building wells, installing solar-powered pumps, and engaging communities in WASH education, BridgIT is making a profound impact on the lives of both refugees and host communities, and helping to create a future where clean water is accessible to all.

Access to clean water not only helps with sanitation and health, but also having access to a nearby well means that families save a lot of time in their day that was previously used for water collection. This saved time means they can focus on agriculture or other business endeavours, and the children have more time to attend school.


BridgIT aims to drive development and not just deliver aid and water is not only lifesaving but is also the first step out of poverty and the start of development for many.

This situation is even more difficult in refugee settlements, where not only the locals but a huge number of refugees must all share the limited water sources. So, in 2023, BridgIT started a special program for refugee settlements in Uganda, on top of our other important projects.


In the heart of East Africa, Uganda has become a beacon of hope for over 2 million refugees who have fled conflict, persecution and instability in neighbouring countries. As these individuals seek safety and a chance to rebuild their lives, one of the most pressing challenges they face is access to clean and safe water.


The importance of this basic necessity cannot be understated, as it directly impacts health and overall wellbeing, in the home and at health clinics and schools. In this critical need, BridgIT, working with our local community partner on the ground in Uganda, Suubi Community Projects, is playing a pivotal role in building wells for refugees, particularly in western and northern refugee settlements.

Through its dedicated programs focused on building wells and increasing access to clean water in refugee settlements, BridgIT is helping to provide a lifeline for thousands of displaced families.


We have recently built wells in the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement and the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, as we will talk about below. But many more refugee villages are still waiting for clean water.


Refugees in Uganda are Increasing

Refugees in Uganda are increasing every year. Uganda is experiencing the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world; and is the biggest host of refugees in Africa, currently hosting over 2 million people who have fled conflicts in South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somalia and Rwanda.


The main reason that refugees in Uganda are increasing at such a high rate is that Uganda has positive refugee policies; providing refugees with freedom of movement, the right to work and create their own businesses, the right to documentation and access to social services. The country uses a non-camp settlement policy, where refugees are allocated relatively good sized plots of land for shelter and agricultural production amongst host communities.


But, as a developing country, it simply does not have funds to support the large number of refugees it is hosting. As a result there are large gaps in refugee provisions, as can be particularly witnessed in Kyaka II and Bidibidi Refugee Settlements.

The refugees often come by foot, and have a difficult journey, and by the time they arrive at a refugee settlement in Uganda they may need medical assistance. There are limited medical clinics, that are shared with host communities and the medical clinics themselves often do not have access to clean water.


Water scarcity is a huge issue in Uganda in general, in the normal population, and the increasing number of refugees places more pressure on water availability. The refugee settlements are often rural, and often don’t have the infrastructure needed to provide clean water to not only all the local communities but the astounding number of refugees as well.


Building wells in refugee settlements helps to support the communities and help both the locals and the refugees.


Congolese Refugees in Kyaka II Settlement

Since January 2022, there has been a rise in refugees at Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in western Uganda due to the security situation in the neighboring country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a result, in this area, the refugees are 88% Congolese. The reception capacity of the host communities has become strained, especially due to lack of basic social services like clean water. 

As a result, not only the new arrivals, but also the people who have been living there - whether it be the refugee communities or the host communities - are in dire need of help.


The settlement was initially established in 1984 to settle Rwandan Tutsi refugees after a decision was taken by the Ugandan government to host all refugees in designated areas. The settlement is divided into 26 villages with an average of 2,100 people per village.

There is also an estimated population of 21,978 nationals surrounding the refugee settlement who directly benefit from services like water, education, health and nutrition programs in the settlement.


Water, which is a communal resource, is so crucial to lives, that when it is inadequate, it leads to deterioration of health and hygiene for everyone, and it also leads to disputes among people fighting over the scarce resource.

The number of hand pumps and water points in Kyaka II Settlement are very limited. This situation leaves many with no choice but to fetch water from other sources like ponds. Women and children who are often responsible for fetching water face risks of encountering gender-based violence because they must walk a long distance to get to the water points. Therefore, safe access to water is indispensable to maintaining life, peaceful co-existence, protection, and safety.


Water is also needed for cleaning and bathing, for one to live a healthy and sanitary life. Many new arrivals, especially persons with specific needs like elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and female-headed households, do not possess latrines on their premises, therefore, open defecation may be practiced. This worsens the quality of water that people are collecting from surface ponds and other unprotected wells.


Sudanese Refugees in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement

Before becoming a refugee settlement in August 2016, the Bidibidi area was a vast, empty, and rural land near the small border town of Yumbe in the north-western part of Uganda, near the border with South Sudan. Since then, the Ugandan government and NGOs have worked to create a settlement rather than a camp to host the influx of the growing number of asylum seekers, particularly from South Sudan, where there has been ongoing conflict. It has very quickly become the second-largest refugee camp in the world as today it is a home to some 270,000 refugees.


There have been growing concerns about health conditions and access to health services as the number of Sudanese refugees in Uganda continues to increase, particularly at the BidiBidi Refugee Settlement. This is compounded by the often-limited accuracy of health measurements in camp settings, with under-reporting of deaths by humanitarian organisations typically occurring more frequently than over-reporting of deaths.


To improve health services in Bidibidi refugee settlement, Real Medicine Foundation established Iyete Health Centre III in 2017. The facility serves about 10,000 refugees and 15,000 locals from the host communities. All these people seek health services at this one facility.


Water plays an indispensable role in infection prevention and control within a health centre. It directly reduces the risk of hospital-acquired infections and ensures the overall safety and well-being of patients. Therefore, water availability in the facility is imperative.

Unfortunately, one of the greatest challenges the facility has is continued inadequate supply of safe water.  The facility was dependant on rainwater collection from the roofs, that was then stored in several tanks.  Because of inadequate rain, and the huge demand for water, the tanks were always empty.

Another source of water for the health centre was a community borehole well located 1.5km away. However, this well is always overcrowded with people waiting in long lines to collect water. It is not big enough to serve all the people that need water, and many people are forced to collect water from unprotected sources like streams and ponds.


Suubi, BridgITs Ugandan Implementing Community Partner

BridgIT works with specially selected community based organisations to implement our water programs. https://www.bridgitwater.org/partner-and-community.

BridgIT partners with Suubi Community Projects Uganda (SCPU), a registered community-based organisation. For the past 10 years, Suubi has been working in the rural areas of Uganda on programs that are focused on increasing access to safe water and sanitation, improving health service delivery, improving education service delivery and economic empowerment for the neediest rural communities. https://scpuganda.org 


Suubi’s approach is based on the self-help model and community ownership of all the projects; believing this is a more sustainable approach to foster the development of rural communities. SCPU has broad experience working with both local and international donors and volunteers in managing and implementing WASH projects and since 2016 the organization has implemented the construction and/or repair of 400+ borewells.


Access to Clean Drinking Water Changes Everything

·         Accessibility Improves Community Wellbeing

Our programs reduce the distance to clean, safe water to an average of 300 to 500mtrs closer to rural community homesteads which improves community wellbeing.

Improves the quality of co-existence and tolerance between the host communities and the refugees.

·         Community Health Improves

Access to clean water reduces the incidence of water-borne illnesses such as typhoid, diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera, especially among children under 12 years. Young children die from dehydration and malnutrition, resulting from diarrheal diseases that could be prevented by clean water and proper hygiene.

Incidence of back pain amongst women and older girls will reduce because they don’t have to walk long distances carrying heavy containers of water.

Beneficiaries can wash their hands to prevent the spread of illness.

·         Household Economies Improve

Community socioeconomic outcomes improve as household money is saved on medical expenses. 

An expected average of 2 hours is saved every day on water collection.  This will especially benefit women and children who are mostly responsible for collecting water and will save them an average of 3 hours daily.  Women will have more time to tend their crops and businesses and for productive work and economic development.

·         Education Outcomes Improve

There is an expected increase in school enrolment and retention, especially among girls as the burden of water collection is relieved, improving education outcomes.  

·         Gender Equality Improves

Access to clean water improves gender equality as women are relieved from travelling long distances to collect water.  The burden of water collection is typically tasked to women and children, who can travel up to 4 hours daily, many kilometres from where they live.  In addition, women are prevented from doing income-generating work or girls attending school, as most of their day is often spent walking miles for their daily water needs.

The borewells will reduce gender-based violence (GBV) that has been occurring in the process of looking for water.

·         Impacts at Health Facilities

Directly reduces the risk of hospital-acquired infections and ensures the overall safety and wellbeing of the patients.

Improved service delivery at the facility, especially in the laboratories and maternity wards where water is crucial.

Improved livelihoods and satisfaction among the facility staff since they will have access to safe water in their residences.

Improved patient confidence to access services at the facility.

Improved livelihoods of households surrounding the facility that will be able to access safe water for use in their homes. 


Training Water User Committees Ensures Sustainability of the Well

BridgIT aims to create sustainable improvements to rural development in the areas we work, therefore it is our intention that the infrastructure we provide to our rural communities will last for years and provide clean, safe water to the people far into the future. The community must have a clear understanding that the water system installed is a valuable piece of infrastructure – it is an asset and a responsibility.


 It is crucial that community ownership is established for the sustainability of the wells. The sustainability of the wells largely depends on each water user understanding the longstanding benefits of the infrastructure. Our communities are empowered to take complete ownership of the bore well and trained on how to plan for future maintenance and repairs, for each of our projects.

 Suubi implements training on how to maintain the well and establishes a water user committee for the community to oversee the upkeep of the well. This is implemented after every single well we do in every community.


 Then we go through health and hygiene (WASH) awareness training and equipment maintenance training for the new bore well.

 Suubi’s team and the BridgIT Water Foundation continue to monitor the committees regularly and

provide support and capacity building as an ongoing part of well sustainability. Throughout the process we have a focus on employing gender equality, including people with a disability and using environmentally friendly practices.


Donate a Community Water Well

If you would like to donate a water well for the refugees in Uganda, we have many villages waiting for clean water.

Providing clean water is one of the most impactful ways to transform a community, especially in refugee settlements where access to safe water is scarce. By donating a well through the BridgIT Water Foundation, you have the power to directly improve the lives of countless families.


A single well can serve hundreds of refugees and locals, offering them not just clean water but also hope, dignity, and a chance at a healthier future. Your contribution can prevent waterborne diseases, reduce the daily burden of fetching water, and allow children to focus on their education instead of survival.

Join us in making a lasting difference—your donation will be a source of life and hope for those who need it most.


Here's what Safina says

Safina is 72 years old and has lived in Ndolerire village since 2019 when she crossed into Uganda as a refugee from Congo.

She lives with her 9 grandchildren and 2 wives of her sons. She says, ‘’we get support from the government, especially food, soap and some medicines. However, water has been a challenge. Clean water has been very far. These children could not walk there. So, we have been collecting water from some pond down in the swamp. The water was dirty. These children have always suffered from stomach issues, and coughs caused by dirty water.

This new Well is very close to our home and the water is very clean. We are very glad and happy.’’


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