BRAC and Villagepump have collectively installed two solar-powered water purifiers to provide clean drinking water to 2,000 residents in Cox’s Bazar’s Rajapalong area.

With the present makeshift inhabitancies of over 900,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, clean drinking water became inadequate for the residents of this area, posing a potential high risk for cholera and diarrhoea.

Mohammed Juma, team lead of BRAC’s WASH programme said, "Safe and clean drinking water is one of the most basic necessities of life. With lowered underground water levels and high iron contamination, many of the shallow tube wells have become obsolete. In this case, Villagepump serves just like a tube well by consuming no electricity or chemicals. But unlike a tube well, it treats surface water to produce clean drinking water which is free from faecal coliform and other contaminants, catering to 50-60 households around each pump.” The devices operate on solar energy and provide 500 litres of clean drinking water per hour. In order to ensure the highest efficiency, BRAC takes care of the management and maintenance of the devices.

BRAC has been working in Cox's Bazar in the areas of education, agriculture, microcredit, and water and sanitation, reaching out to 80,000 people in the community. Cox's Bazar is one of the poorest and most vulnerable areas of Bangladesh, where 17 per cent people live in extreme poverty, compared to the national average of 12.9 per cent. Additionally, it shelters the displaced Rohingya refugees fleeing from Myanmar.