Arkoum, Chad—In the makeshift camps scattered along the border of Sudan, the most precious resource is not food or medicine, but water. Thousands of families who fled the fighting in Sudan are now trapped in a secondary battle against extreme heat and a lack of drinkable water. The infrastructure built to support these communities is failing, leaving women and children to walk hours in the desert sun just to secure a few liters for daily survival.

The wells and boreholes that sustain the camps are being pumped at rates that cannot be sustained. In the peak of the heat, the water table has dropped significantly, forcing aid agencies to rely on tanker trucks that struggle to navigate the sandy, unpaved terrain. Often, these trucks cannot make the trip, leaving entire sections of the camps without water for days at a time.

For the displaced, this shortage is a constant source of anxiety. Long lines form at water points before dawn, with people waiting for hours in the hope that a shipment will arrive. The competition for these resources has led to increased tensions between the refugee arrivals and the local communities, who have also seen their own traditional water sources dry up under the pressure.

Humanitarian standards mandate a minimum amount of water per person for basic hygiene and consumption, a goal that these camps rarely reach. Many families report receiving less than half of the recommended daily amount. This scarcity directly contributes to the spread of waterborne diseases, which thrive in the crowded, unsanitary conditions that develop when people cannot wash or maintain basic hygiene.

The environmental reality of the region complicates the response. Years of irregular rainfall have left the land arid, and the arrival of thousands of refugees has accelerated the desertification of the area. Even with the installation of new wells, the output is often insufficient to cover the needs of the growing population, as more people arrive from the conflict zone every week.

Aid groups are attempting to implement more efficient water management systems, but the cost and logistical difficulty of transporting materials to the remote border region are massive. Every upgrade to the water supply infrastructure takes months to plan and weeks to execute, time that the displaced families do not have. The desperation is visible in every corner of the camps.

The funding gap for these specific water, sanitation, and hygiene projects remains wide. Major international donors have curtailed their contributions, leaving organizations to choose which life-saving services to cut. Water delivery is rarely the first to go, but it is frequently the most difficult to maintain at a level that ensures health and safety for the population.

Without a significant increase in international funding and a focus on long-term water stability, the camps remain on the verge of a public health disaster. The situation for the displaced is not improving, and as the heat intensifies throughout the summer, the dependency on external water shipments will only grow. The camps remain a temporary solution to a problem that has no clear end in sight.