Water supply for refugees and their host communities in protracted situations: costs and financing options for sustaining services in Ethiopia and Uganda

ABSTRACT This paper reports on a study to identify the actual costs of water supply in two contexts with long-term refugee populations: Itang in the Gambella region of Ethiopia and Rwamwanja in the Kamwenge District of Uganda. Following the initial rapid, overwhelming demand for services at these locations, the water services have evolved through different phases of investment with concerted efforts made to both improve services and reduce costs. Most recently, this has included the adoption of utility management models. In Itang, Ethiopia, the transition from emergency water supply and water trucking to a metered piped water network along with the establishment of a utility and a shift to solar power has significantly reduced the cost of supplying water from $11.38 per cubic metre (m3) to $0.93 per m3 between 2014 and 2024. In Rwamwanja, Uganda, the costs of water supply, including both capital investments and estimated operating costs, were $1.42 per m3 in the first phase and later reduced to $0.29 per m3 between 2012 and 2024. This paper seeks to provide evidence to support the discussion on how water services can be financed to meet the needs of refugees and their host communities on a sustainable basis.