| dc.description.abstract | Emergency situations can occur as a result of slow or rapid onsets. During such circumstances
the affected populations become refugees or Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who often
require fundamental and immediate needs such as water, food, sanitation which, when provided
to them on time, can help
break the cycle of disease transmission and improve their wellbeing. The present study
conducted aims at assessing the socio-economic challenges for the provision of Water,
sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH) standard in the Gado-Badzere Cameroon refugee
camp. A total of two hundred and twelve (212) households were surveyed within the camp
through a questionnaire. This was accompanied with key interviews, field observation and
secondary data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data and the
findings were compared to international standards. The identified socio-economic hurdles for
the provision of WASH services in the camp were Financial constraints, behaviour complexities
and cultural factors, refugee’s dependence, and others such as geological factors etc. A total of
31 Boreholes, 12 standpipes unevenly distributed were found in the camp, the average volume
of water available per person per day was 16 liters which was above that of 15 liters in
emergency situations. Water points were located within the perimeters and the waiting time at
the source was between 3-5minutes. The total number of used latrines was 817. The average
number of persons per this facility was 31people, which is much higher than the standard
suggested of 20 people per toilet facility. There were 300 garbage bins available in the camp
and 15households per this facility. Faeces of children and menstrual hygiene of women are to
an extent tackled. There are still many apprehensions regarding the number of persons per
latrines and toilets, number of people per garbage can, access of WASH services to vulnerable
groups, and challenges. This study can be very beneficial for the wellbeing of refugees in the
world in general and particularly in Africa. | en_US |
