WASH at Refugee Transit Centres During an Active Ebola Outbreak: What Field Teams Need to Get Right Now

At Uganda's Nyakabande Transit Centre in Kisoro District, authorities are screening hundreds of Congolese refugees per day for Ebola symptoms — while managing an intensifying population influx from eastern DRC that has stretched staffing, sanitation, and water supply to breaking point. From January through 24 May 2026, Uganda registered 7,183 new Congolese refugees through the transit centre alone, all arriving from an active Ebola transmission zone where WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May 2026.

The challenge WASH officers face at transit centres is different from the challenge inside an Ebola Treatment Unit, and different again from long-term refugee settlement water supply. Transit centres hold populations for days to weeks, not months. New arrivals have unknown exposure histories. Water sources are often temporary. Sanitation infrastructure was not built for surge capacity. And in this outbreak, there is no licensed vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus strain in circulation — which means hand hygiene, surface disinfection, and safe water are the primary interventions available.

Getting WASH right at transit centres during an active Ebola PHEIC is not a secondary task. It is the intervention that determines whether an outbreak moves from confined cross-border transmission into a sustained settlement epidemic. The operational requirements are specific, the procurement window is narrow, and the field guidance on this particular context — as distinct from ETU requirements — is underused.

Quick answers for field teams:

• The Sphere Handbook minimum of 15 litres per person per day applies at transit points, but Ebola screening contexts require additional water for handwashing stations, temperature screening points, and surface decontamination

• Handwashing with 0.05% chlorine solution (500 mg/L) is WHO's recommended protocol for skin decontamination in Ebola-affected settings — not soap alone

• Point-of-use treatment products including P&G Purifier of Water sachets and Aquatabs 67mg are the correct first response for treating household water at distribution points and transit shelters where piped supply is absent

• Uganda's refugee settlements currently average 17 litres per person per day — below UNHCR's 20-litre target — meaning any population surge at transit points hits an already-strained baseline

• Pre-positioned stock in Kampala means same-week dispatch is achievable for confirmed orders to northern Uganda and Kisoro District

The Specific WASH Challenge at Transit Centres

Transit centres sit at the operational boundary between outbreak zone and host country. At Nyakabande, arrivals come directly from Ituri Province and North Kivu — the same provinces where WHO's Disease Outbreak News reported 121 confirmed cases and over 1,000 suspected cases as of 26 May 2026, with ongoing transmission in Bunia and surrounding health zones. Anyone arriving at a transit centre may have had contact with a confirmed or suspected case within the previous 21 days.

Standard WASH provision at transit centres is designed for a population in transition: basic hygiene kits, temporary latrines, water trucking or distribution points. None of this is scaled for a context where handwashing stations must accommodate both health screening functions and basic household hygiene for hundreds of new arrivals per day, where the same water points serve people with unknown Ebola exposure histories, and where surface decontamination of registration and medical screening areas must be sustained across multiple shifts.

Field teams reporting from Bunia displacement sites — with conditions similar to what Nyakabande is now managing — described a ratio of one handwashing station per 10,000 people. WHO's minimum standard for health facility handwashing in Ebola response contexts is one functional handwashing point per entry/exit to any screening or clinical area, plus one per ward. Applying that standard to a transit centre with active Ebola screening means a fundamental step-up in handwashing infrastructure from what a standard refugee transit facility provides.

Surface decontamination at health screening points uses the same 0.5% chlorine solution recommended for ETU high-risk zones — the concentration required to inactivate the Ebola virus on non-living surfaces, per WHO and UNICEF's technical guidance. Preparing and replenishing this solution at transit centre volume — covering registration desks, temperature screening areas, seating, and transit shelter surfaces — requires continuous chlorine supply, mixing capacity, and staff trained in correct preparation.

Water Supply at Points of Entry and Transit Shelters

Water supply at refugee transit centres sits in a different procurement and infrastructure category from borehole-fed settlement systems. Boreholes take weeks to drill and test. Piped municipal supply does not reach many transit points in western Uganda near the DRC border. The operational solution in the first days and weeks is water trucking to collapsible storage tanks, supplemented by point-of-use treatment for household-level consumption in transit shelters.

UNHCR's WASH in Emergencies operational guidance sets 15 litres per person per day as the Phase 1 minimum, with a target of 20 litres. Uganda's refugee settlements already average 17 litres per person per day under non-emergency baseline conditions, according to UNHCR operational data. A transit centre population surge on top of this baseline — drawing from the same trucking and distribution networks that serve nearby settlements — pushes per-person supply downward at exactly the moment when additional water is needed for screening and decontamination protocols.

Collapsible pillow tanks and frame-supported bladders — such as those from Butyl Products (UK) — bridge this gap. They can be positioned at transit shelter perimeters, filled by tanker, and connected to gravity-fed distribution networks serving multiple tap stands. A 10,000-litre bladder positioned at a transit point serving 500 people provides 20 litres per person per day from a single trucked fill. At 1,000 people — the congestion level Nyakabande is now managing — two or three units in parallel are the minimum to maintain Sphere minimums while allocating separate water for decontamination activities.

The pumps and equipment range available through Specialized Logistics Solutions (SLS) includes Aussie Pumps and Multiquip pump sets capable of transferring water from tanker to bladder storage at rates appropriate for rapid fill operations at transit sites.

Point-of-Use Treatment: The Right Product for the Right Context

For the transit population itself — people living in temporary shelters for days to weeks before relocation to a settlement — point-of-use water treatment at household level is not a supplementary option. It is the appropriate primary intervention where continuous piped supply or centrally treated water cannot be guaranteed.

P&G Purifier of Water sachets treat 10-litre batches of water at a time, combining coagulation and disinfection in a single product. The coagulation step removes suspended particles — including sediment in trucked water that may have been stored in tanks without regular cleaning — before the disinfectant acts. This two-stage action is critical in transit settings where water quality arriving in storage tanks cannot be verified. WHO's technical guidance on emergency water treatment specifies that chlorine disinfection is significantly less effective in turbid water above 5 NTU, a condition that should be assumed in trucked water held in field conditions.

Specialized Logistics Solutions (SLS) holds exclusive South Sudan distribution rights for P&G Purifier of Water and pre-positioned stock is maintained in Kampala for Uganda programmes — visit the WASH products page for procurement details.

For transit populations in shelters where water has already been treated centrally, Aquatabs 67mg tablets are the correct product for maintaining safe residual chlorine at point of use. Each tablet treats 20 litres of clear water and can be distributed during daily non-food item runs with minimal training required for the end user. Authorised distribution by Specialized Logistics Solutions (SLS) means procurement officers can access supply directly in-region without international sourcing timelines.

Sanitation and the Transmission Risk at Overcrowded Transit Points

Ebola transmission does not require proximity to a confirmed case — it requires contact with bodily fluids from an infectious person. In transit centres with inadequate latrine coverage, that contact pathway can occur through contaminated surfaces at shared facilities. UNHCR's standard for emergency refugee settings is one latrine per 20 persons, segregated by sex. At Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda — one of the destinations receiving relocated Nyakabande arrivals — the current ratio stands at 1:107, more than five times the standard, according to UNHCR operational data.

A transit centre receiving Congolese refugees from an active Ebola zone, and relocating them to a settlement with latrine coverage five times below minimum standard, has not moved the infection risk — it has relocated it. The correct WASH response is not only to address the transit point infrastructure but to ensure the receiving settlement has sufficient sanitation capacity before population transfers begin.

Surface decontamination of latrine facilities at transit points during an Ebola response should use 0.5% chlorine solution for any surface that may be contaminated with blood or body fluids, per WHO and UNICEF guidance. Daily cleaning schedules, maintained with consistent chlorine supply, reduce transmission risk at shared sanitation facilities. This is a supply continuity challenge as much as a technical one — chlorine stock must be present at the transit centre in sufficient quantity for the duration of the screening and transit period, with buffer stock to account for supply chain delays.

The Procurement Window for Transit WASH Supplies Is Already Closing

UNICEF mobilized nearly 50 tonnes of IPC supplies — including disinfectants, water purification tablets, and water tanks — to Ituri Province by 18 May 2026, within one day of the PHEIC declaration. That mobilisation drew on pre-positioned stock inside the region. Organisations that have not yet placed orders for transit WASH supplies — chlorine feedstock, point-of-use treatment products, collapsible storage, handwashing infrastructure — face procurement timelines that will not align with the current operational tempo.

As of 27 May 2026, 1,205 suspected and confirmed Ebola cases had been reported in DRC and Uganda, with at least 264 deaths. The outbreak is not contracting. Population movement from Ituri Province and North Kivu into Uganda is not slowing — an average of 2,500 new refugees per week were arriving in Uganda before this outbreak began, according to UNHCR. The transit centres receiving that flow are now also receiving it under active Ebola surveillance conditions.

Organisations managing transit centres, relocation points, or receiving settlements in western and northern Uganda need to review their WASH stock positions this week. The key products are not sophisticated or expensive: water purification sachets, chlorine tablets, HTH Calcium Hypochlorite for bulk decontamination solution preparation, and collapsible storage tanks that can be positioned within hours of a population surge. The logistics question is whether that stock is in-country and accessible.

What This Means for Your Programme

Transit centre WASH during an active Ebola outbreak is an operational category that falls between the detailed ETU guidance and the standard refugee settlement planning framework. The requirements are higher than standard transit provision, but different from clinical-grade ETU infrastructure. Getting it right requires pre-positioned stock, correct product selection for the treatment context, and supply continuity for chlorine across the full duration of the screening and relocation period. Explore the full WASH products catalogue from Specialized Logistics Solutions (SLS) for stock details.

Specialized Logistics Solutions (SLS) holds pre-positioned stock of P&G Purifier of Water sachets, Aquatabs 67mg, HTH Calcium Hypochlorite drums, and Butyl Products collapsible water tanks in Juba and Kampala, available for rapid dispatch. Contact the team at sales@maji-safi.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the correct chlorine concentration for handwashing at an Ebola transit screening point?

WHO and UNICEF recommend a 0.05% chlorine solution (500 mg/L) for handwashing and skin decontamination at Ebola response facilities, including transit and screening points. This concentration is distinct from the 0.5% solution used for surface and equipment decontamination in high-risk areas. Both solutions are prepared from the same calcium hypochlorite feedstock (HTH) at different dilution ratios.

How much water does a refugee transit centre need per person per day during an Ebola screening operation?

The Sphere Handbook minimum of 15 litres per person per day applies as a floor. In Ebola screening contexts, this must be supplemented with additional water for handwashing stations at all screening and registration points, surface decontamination of shared facilities, and cleaning of any medical screening equipment. A working planning figure is 20–25 litres per person per day to account for these additional requirements, consistent with UNHCR's target of 20 litres.

Can P&G Purifier of Water sachets be used to treat water held in collapsible bladder tanks?

Yes. P&G Purifier of Water sachets are designed for batch treatment of 10-litre volumes of raw or turbid water. For water already held in bladder tanks, the coagulation step removes any suspended solids that may have entered during filling, and the disinfectant component establishes a residual that protects the treated water during storage and distribution. For larger volumes, proportional dosing by sachet is the standard field approach.

What is the Sphere minimum for latrine coverage at a refugee transit

centre?

The Sphere Handbook and UNHCR emergency standards specify a maximum of one latrine per 20 persons in emergency settings, with sex-segregated facilities required. In Ebola response contexts, latrines at transit and screening points must be cleaned daily with 0.5% chlorine solution to decontaminate surfaces that may carry infectious bodily fluids.

How quickly can collapsible water bladder tanks be deployed at a transit centre?

Butyl Products collapsible pillow tanks and frame-supported bladders can be positioned and filled within hours of arrival at a site. They require no concrete base or engineered foundation — they can be placed on compacted earth or packed soil. Pre-positioned stock in Kampala means transit WASH teams in western and northern Uganda can receive units within 24–48 hours of a confirmed order. See the full warehouses and shelters range for specifications.