Rohingya refugees ration life to just 20 litres of water a day as funding crisis threatens hard-won WASH systems in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar.

In the densely packed camps of Cox’s Bazar, nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees mark a decade of displacement while rationing water to the bare minimum needed for survival, as Oxfam warns that deepening funding shortfalls are putting critical water, sanitation and hygiene systems at severe risk.

The daily struggle for water defines life for Rohingya families in the world’s largest refugee camps. Humanitarian standards recommend at least 15–20 litres per person per day for drinking, cooking, personal hygiene and basic sanitation. In practice, many households receive around that amount or less, forcing impossible choices between bathing children, washing clothes, cooking meals or maintaining hygiene.

Average collection sits near 24 litres per person in some assessments, yet this barely covers essentials. A short bath alone can consume 15–20 litres. Shared latrines serve dozens of people, and water supply is often limited to short windows each day, leaving families queuing for hours under the sun or climbing steep hills with heavy containers.

Groundwater levels continue to fall. Extraction for the camps exceeds millions of litres daily, with water tables dropping several metres in places. Many shallow tube wells have failed or produce salty, muddy water. Communities increasingly rely on treated surface water networks, boreholes, reservoirs and thousands of tapstands that require constant maintenance.

A Decade of Systems Now Under Strain

Since the mass influx of 2017, aid agencies, the government of Bangladesh and partners built an extensive humanitarian public-health infrastructure. Across Cox’s Bazar this includes hundreds of water networks, production boreholes, reservoir tanks, more than 7,000 tapstands, nearly 50,000 latrines and over 160 faecal sludge treatment plants.

These assets transformed an emergency response into a functioning system that has prevented major disease outbreaks and protected dignity. Yet Oxfam’s August 2026 report, Holding the Line: WASH Systems, Risk and Resilience in the Rohingya Response, cautions that scale can conceal fragility. Ageing infrastructure, dry-season shortages, monsoon damage, uneven operations and sharp funding cuts are raising risks.

The 2025 Joint Response Plan received only about 46 per cent of the $934.5 million requested. The recalibrated 2026 appeal seeks $710.5 million – 26 per cent lower – covering only the bare minimum to sustain lifesaving services. Cuts have already affected WASH, food, health and protection.

Women and Girls Bear the Heaviest Burden

Limited water and distant or poorly lit facilities create particular dangers for women and girls. Many report fear of harassment or violence when collecting water or using latrines after dark. Menstrual hygiene materials have become scarcer, and soap is often in short supply.

One resident described the daily calculation: limited water means choosing between bathing children, cooking or laundry. Another noted the need for a companion at night because of insecurity around facilities. These pressures compound the broader loss of privacy and safety in overcrowded camps.

Oxfam’s Sustained Response on the Frontline

Oxfam has worked in the Rohingya response since 2017 alongside refugees, host communities, local partners, government institutions, UN agencies and donors. Its programmes span surface-water treatment, faecal sludge management, solar lighting, solid-waste systems, food production for dietary diversity, skills training, protection and community engagement.

In sanitation, Oxfam helped pioneer large-scale biological faecal sludge treatment plants – among the first of their kind at this scale in a refugee setting – capable of handling substantial daily volumes and converting waste into compost that benefits both refugee and host agriculture. The organisation has also supported safer desludging operations through technology and training, surface and groundwater treatment systems, and hygiene promotion.

Oxfam’s work demonstrates that humanitarian assistance can save lives while building local capacity and resilience. Maintaining water quality, repairing ageing assets, treating sewage, clearing drains and waste, ensuring safe access and responding rapidly to disease threats all require predictable financing.

Host Communities Share the Strain

The water crisis is not confined to the camps. Host communities in Ukhiya and Teknaf face depleting groundwater, higher costs for deeper wells and increased competition for limited resources. Some villages must drill hundreds of feet to reach usable water. Joint programmes that serve both refugees and hosts help reduce tension and build shared resilience.

Climate pressures intensify the challenge. Monsoons bring flooding and landslides that damage infrastructure and displace families. Dry seasons stretch water systems further. Without sustained investment in maintenance and climate-adapted solutions, hard-won gains risk rapid reverse.

The Cost of Underfunding

Reduced water and sanitation services raise the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks. Health surveillance has already recorded concerning numbers of cholera cases in recent periods. Food assistance has also been scaled back in places, compounding malnutrition risks, particularly among children. Protection gaps widen as families face greater insecurity and fewer resources.

Oxfam and partners argue that holding the public-health line now depends on steady support for the less visible but essential work of system upkeep. Predictable funding, stronger local leadership, continued investment in resilient infrastructure and genuine pathways toward durable solutions are required.

Nearly a decade after the 2017 exodus, the Rohingya crisis remains one of the world’s largest and most protracted. The camps continue to absorb new arrivals fleeing renewed violence in Myanmar. The infrastructure that keeps disease at bay and preserves a measure of dignity was built through international solidarity. Allowing it to degrade would reverse years of progress and place more than a million people at greater risk.