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Water provision for Congolese refugees in Lunda Norte, Angola (16 July 2018)

Countries
Angola
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Sources
UNHCR
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Introduction

Water is vital for the life of refugees and is used for human consumption, hygiene for clothes washing, showers and for agriculture. Water provision is part of the group of Basic Needs and Essential Services that is implemented by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and is included into the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) cluster of the Comprehensive Refugees Response Framework (CRRF). As such, water is always prioritised at the onset of the emergency phase of any humanitarian response as well as during the search for durable solutions.

Refugees in the Lunda Norte province of Angola

Water was provided to the 35,000 Congolese refugees who fled the instability in the Kasai regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2017. Initially, refugees were settled in two transit centres in the capital of Lunda Norte, Dundo called Mussunge and Cacanda, whilst others were welcomed by the local communities in Dundo and the surrounding areas. Following the decision of the authorities to relocate the refugees to a newly built settlement in Lóvua Municipality, some 13,600 refugees moved to Lóvua between August 2017 and March 2018. However, nearly 8,700 refugees are waiting in the communities in Lunda Norte with the aim of relocation to Lóvua in the near future.