Record displacement highlights critical need for clean water to prevent disease, explains Hydrachem

BILLINGSHURST, England, Dec. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 123 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced by the end of 2024 – the highest number ever recorded – according to the latest figures from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

With millions of people living in refugee camps globally due to war, persecution, human rights violations or other crises, temporary settlements can grow to rival the populations of major cities, existing for decades. Yet they continue to operate without the infrastructure needed to sustain life safely.

Water purification specialist Hydrachem is calling for an urgent rethink of how clean water access is planned and delivered in refugee camps, warning that the current approach is contributing to preventable disease outbreaks and deaths.

Nicolas Barbieri, Chief Commercial Officer at Hydrachem, commented: "We're witnessing something deeply troubling. These places were never meant to be permanent, but for far too many they have become just that. Vulnerable families, displaced through no fault of their own, are being asked to live in conditions that should never be acceptable. These settlements now function like cities, but without the essential infrastructure required for people to live safely.

The planning and resources allocated to water access often remain at an emergency, temporary level. It is widely recognised that crowding, lack of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities contribute to infectious disease outbreaks in refugee camps."

In 2024, UNHCR responded to outbreaks of measles, cholera and mpox in refugee-hosting countries. In Bangladesh, camps hosting Rohingya refugees reported over 15,000 dengue cases, highlighting the ongoing health challenges.

Hydrachem argues that the humanitarian sector must move beyond short-term fixes and embrace permanent water infrastructure solutions from the outset of camp planning.

Nicolas Barbieri added: "The first question when establishing a refugee camp should be: how do we ensure clean water for potentially decades? We need to stop treating these as temporary problems requiring temporary solutions. People's lives depend on it."

Drawing on decades of experience trusted by global healthcare providers, Hydrachem works with humanitarian organisations to bring sustainable water solutions into challenging environments. Its OASIS water purification tablets provide a practical, rapid method to make water safe at the point of use, effective against bacteria, viruses and parasites, and suitable for both emergency deployment and longer-term operations.

Hydrachem believes that integrating proven water purification technology into camp infrastructure planning is both practical and essential, and should be embedded in every stage, from initial emergency response through to long-term settlement management.

"We've been supplying water purification and sterilisation solutions globally for half a century," says Nicolas Barbieri. "We've learned that prevention is always more effective than crisis response. The cost of providing clean water is a fraction of the cost of treating disease outbreaks, both in financial terms and in human suffering."

With displacement having nearly doubled during the last decade, the humanitarian sector faces a critical choice: continue responding to refugee camps as temporary emergencies, or acknowledge reality and build infrastructure that matches the decades-long timescales involved.

Nicolas Barbieri concluded: "When a settlement is going to exist for ten, fifteen or even twenty years, it's deserving of permanent infrastructure solutions. Clean water shouldn't be a luxury in the 21st century, yet for millions living in refugee camps, it remains out of reach."

Notes to Editor:

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SOURCE Hydrachem