Quality Assessment of the Water Sources in the IDP Camps a Case Study of IDP Camp in Borno Nigeria

Abstract

The conflict between the Nigerian state armed group and a non-state armed group in the North East has led to the displacement of over 2.1 million Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps and host communities. This has placed a heavy burden on the government and other non-Governmental organizations in the provision of aides to reduce the suffering of these people, especially women and children. The question of the quality and adequacy of water and its health implication on the IDPs have to remain evasive and unanswered due to the security threat of carrying out research in such security flashpoints. The research against all odds sought to analyze the quality of water (physical, chemical, and bacteriological) of the water, its availability/source, and the ease of getting the water in the camps. It was conducted with the use of a structured questionnaire distributed in 12 out of the 16 official IDP camps studied with a sample of water taken and analyzed in the Maiduguri NAFDAC office. The research revealed among others that water provision is inadequate for the IDPs as observed in the camps visited. Also, the distance traveled, and time spent at a fetching point is none conforming to both SPHERE and UNHCR standards. The laboratory finding for water quality assessment indicates that there is the presence of physical, biological, and chemical contaminants harmful to health. The research findings from the camp defy the standard provisions for IDPs in both UNHCR and SPHERE. The research recommends that the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development needs to enforce strict compliance with the humanitarian standards in the Nigerian national policy on internally displaced persons in Nigeria to enhance better life of the IDPs in the formal and informal camps.