Nearly a decade into the Rohingya refugee crisis, host communities in Cox’s Bazar are facing a worsening struggle for safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, as poverty, salinity intrusion, climate change and pressure on local services deepen existing vulnerabilities.
The situation is particularly acute in Ukhiya and Teknaf, where communities face cyclones, storm surges, flooding and saltwater intrusion.
For many poor households, shallow tube wells remain an important source of drinking water despite contamination risks, while deeper and safer sources are often beyond their means.
The problem, however, predates the Rohingya influx.
Host communities in Cox’s Bazar have long faced poverty, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to essential services. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees since 2017 has added pressure on land, water resources, public services and the environment.
A World Bank assessment found that host populations in Ukhiya and Teknaf are among the poorest in Cox’s Bazar and that the continued presence of the Rohingya population has stretched government service delivery.
It found that 46% of host-community households use unimproved sanitation facilities, compared with 17% of displaced Rohingya households.
A Joint Multi-Sector Needs Assessment also found that 23% of host-community households reported not having enough water for all their domestic needs, while water quality was identified as another concern.
For communities living alongside the camps, therefore, the challenge extends beyond water availability to its quality, reliability and affordability.
Cox’s Bazar’s coastal location makes communities particularly vulnerable to climate-related hazards. Cyclones and storm surges can damage water and sanitation infrastructure, while flooding can contaminate water sources and latrines.
Increasing salinity and limited freshwater groundwater are also making reliable drinking-water sources harder to secure.
Md Nurul Osman, managing director of the Hygiene, Sanitation and Water Supply Foundation (HYSAWA), said coastal communities are particularly vulnerable because of the shortage of safe freshwater sources.
“Due to the lack of safe water sources, many people are forced to consume contaminated water from shallow tube wells,” Osman said.
He said salinity intrusion and the scarcity of freshwater groundwater are worsening the situation. Although deep tube wells are more reliable, their installation costs are too high for many households.
According to HYSAWA’s 2024 annual report, installing a tube well typically costs Tk 100,000–150,000, putting such infrastructure beyond the reach of many low-income families. HYSAWA’s report also identifies climate change, water scarcity and sustainable sanitation as key challenges facing vulnerable communities in Cox’s Bazar.
A HYSAWA-supported community in Ramu illustrates the potential of community-based systems. Its water network is connected to an 810-foot-deep tube well and currently supplies 55 families through a 5,000-litre tank elevated 20 feet above the ground. The project plans to gradually extend access to another 100 families.
According to HYSAWA, more than 100,000 people have benefited from its interventions, including 400 tube wells, 93 solar-powered piped water supply systems and 1,585 improved household latrines.
Each solar-powered piped water system can serve about 30–60 households, providing a more reliable supply while reducing dependence on vulnerable groundwater sources.
Water insecurity is closely linked to sanitation.
The World Bank’s finding that 46% of host-community households use unimproved sanitation facilities highlights the scale of the challenge. During floods, poorly constructed or unprotected latrines can contaminate surrounding land and water sources, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
HYSAWA is installing improved household latrines and constructing sanitation facilities on raised platforms in flood- and cyclone-prone areas. It is also conducting hygiene-promotion activities covering handwashing, menstrual hygiene management, food hygiene, latrine cleanliness, water safety and waste management.
The wider WASH response in Cox’s Bazar also continues to focus on both Rohingya refugees and host communities in Ukhiya and Teknaf, with programs covering water supply, sanitation infrastructure, hygiene promotion and solid-waste management.
HYSAWA, established under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, has worked on WASH services since 2008.
It says it has provided WASH services to more than 10 million rural poor people, worked in more than 1,100 Union Parishads across 27 districts, installed more than 84,000 water points and supported the construction and rehabilitation of more than 1.7 million sanitary latrines nationwide.
Its programs include hygiene promotion, water safety, menstrual hygiene management, food and latrine hygiene, waste management and climate-resilient water and sanitation facilities. It also promotes solar energy, smokeless cookstoves, gender equality and the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
For host communities, however, resilience means more than installing another tube well or latrine.
Water and sanitation services must remain accessible, affordable and functional despite cyclones, floods, salinity and prolonged pressure on local resources.
As the Rohingya crisis enters its second decade, addressing those long-standing vulnerabilities will remain essential to ensuring that host communities are not left carrying an increasingly heavy share of the burden.
