This was made possible with funding from the European Union Humanitarian Aid
By Moses Sserwanga
As Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement continues to face challenges of limited water supply due to increased new arrivals of Sudanese refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has with funding from the European Union Humanitarian Aid financed the drilling and motorization of two more boreholes to provide clean and safe water to save lives.
UNICEF with European Union Humanitarian Aid commissioned a water supply feasibility study with the aim of exploring long term adequate and sustainable water supply options to address a 20-year water demand for Kiryandongo area.
One of the expected recommendations from the study was to drill four high yielding boreholes with an aim to increase access to adequate clean and safe water supply to save lives as an immediate response.
However, out of the four newly drilled high yielding boreholes, only two boreholes (in cluster A and G) were found to have water supply of the quality suitable for use by the refugees and host communities in Kiryandongo settlement and the motorization of the boreholes using solar power begun end May 2025.
On completion, the motorized boreholes will provide an additional approximately 42M3/Hr. (a total of about 288M3 of clean water per day – including – six hours pumping with diesel-generator power) which is expected to improve the water supply service levels to at least 14 -15 litres per day, up from the current 9.1 litres per person per day. The water supply per person per day dropped from 16 litres in 2023 to nine litres in 2024, which is far below the recommended International Humanitarian Standard of 20 litres per person per day.
UNICEFUganda/2025
This latest humanitarian intervention by UNICEF aims at improving access to adequate and equitable safe water supply for some of the 85,004 Sudanese refugees registered in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Cluster A and G and nearby host communities.
The settlement is currently hosting a total of 150,723 refugees in clusters G, L, B, A and the figures continue to rise, according to the Commandant Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Mr. Emmanuel Turyagenda. The new boreholes will supply water to the most vulnerable existing refugees, host communities and the Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) living in the neighbouring areas.
The development of the two water systems will contribute to the urgently needed water supply infrastructure, in line with the Interagency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) plan developed jointly with WASH actors active in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement under the leadership of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), and the proactive participation of UNICEF.
In the same WASH plan, UNHCR has planned to develop another water supply system from a surface water source within Kiryandongo area to further increase access to safe water supply for the refugees and host community.
Each borehole funded drilled and constructed by UNICEF with European Union Humanitarian Aid funding will constitute a solar powered water supply system, complete with an electric multistage centrifugal submersible borehole pump, a solar power system with mono crystalline PV Solar panels, PV solar panel support structure for mounting solar panels and electrical accessories.
A 22Kv diesel-powered generator will also be installed to provide backup power for the daylight pumping hours. These two water systems will have transmission pipelines (HDPE pipe OD 75mm PN 16), that will carry water from the boreholes to the reservoir tanks and water supply distribution networks each with about 14 tap stands per system.
Mr Paul Semakula, a WASH specialist based at the UNICEF Zonal Office in Arua, said that this additional water infrastructure to be developed in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, will improve access to safe and reliable (un-interrupted) water supply service levels of at least 14-15 litres per person per day to at least 21,000 refugees in Cluster A and Cluster G hence significantly reducing or eliminating the need for water trucking in Cluster A. Secondly the distribution tap stands in the cluster will ensure girls and women will not have to move long distances to access safe water.
