Dr. Zahid Hayat Mahmud
Dr. Zahid Hayat Mahmud is an Environmental Microbiologist and Head of the Laboratory of Environmental Health of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). He has extensive experience in water microbiology research and has published around 50 scientific publications in different international peer-reviewed high impact journals.
Ensuring safe drinking water in Rohingya camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
A new study published in Gut Pathogens and supported by UNICEF, reveals high levels of contamination of source water from tubewells and household drinking water in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh. Findings suggest that secondary contamination may occur due to inadequate hygienic practices, and call for measures to raise awareness among people in camps.
A Rohingya child is drinking water directly from tube well spout, located in a place in very poor and unsafe conditions.
The Rohingya emergency
Since August 2017, around one million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh following a wave of targeted violence in the neighboring Rakhine State of Myanmar. Most of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas settled in a series of camps in Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas (sub-districts) of Cox’s Bazar. The need for humanitarian assistance, including shelter, safe water, food, and sanitation, has been tremendous and increasing day by day.
Collectively, a total of 6,057 water points and 50,087 emergency latrines have been built to support the needs of the camp’s inhabitants. But in the hilly terrain of Cox’s Bazar, the large influx of Rohingyas gathering at an unplanned and unprompted settlement has created an unprecedented challenge in meeting water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs. Such forcibly shifted stressed populations could be highly predisposed to the possibility of acute watery diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.
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