Almost one million people live in 24 camps for refugees and internally displaced people in Ethiopia. They have fled wars and massacres in South Sudan and Somalia, and forced conscription and government oppression in Eritrea.
Life in these camps is difficult. One of the challenges is drainage. The region experiences very intense, short storms. The camps don’t have proper water drainage systems, which means the stormwater causes flash flooding and mudslides. This results in:
contaminated water flooding out of latrines, waste disposal sites and other unsanitary areas
damage to clean water points, toilets and sewage disposal systems
mosquitoes that breed in the stagnant water left behind by floods, increasing the risk of malaria and other illnesses
severe erosion of roads, preventing aid from being delivered.
