Nduta (Tanzania): accute shortage of drinking water

An increasing shortage of drinking water is reported in the Nduta camp in Tanzania. Refugees fear diseases from dirty hands.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The most affected areas are those in the north of the camp, such as 12, 13 and 14.

“Here, not a drop for three days. We are really unhappy. We are asking for emergency help,” laments a Burundian refugee met at a dry tap in zone 13.

This lack of water also affects other parts of the camp. Long queues are then noted at the taps or drinking water distribution points.

Those who can afford it fetch from the Nyangwa and Ndorobo rivers which cross the valleys located not far from this large Burundian refugee camp.

“It is this dirty water that refugees drink and use for cooking and washing. We fear catching diseases from dirty hands if nothing is done as soon as possible,” emphasize Burundian refugees who spoke to SOS Médias Burundi.

Water managers in this camp explain that the water level has dropped sharply in the reservoirs.

A tap has been dry for several days at the Burundian refugee camp of Nduta located in northwestern Tanzania, January 2025 (SOS Médias Burundi)

However, they are struggling to convince refugees while the season is rather rainy in this part of northwestern Tanzania, in the Kigoma region which is home to the Nduta camp.

Nduta is home to more than 58,000 Burundian refugees. Its occupants fled the 2015 crisis following another controversial mandate of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza the same year, for the most part.

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Women and children wait in vain at a drinking water distribution point in Nduta, January 2025 (SOS Médias