Refugees struggle to access fresh water as Covid cripples Nauru

About 40% of Nauru’s population is currently infected with Covid19, and with prices of food and water soaring, refugees still detained on the tiny Pacific Island nation say they are struggling to access food, water and medicines.

The Melbourne-based Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has issued an urgent plea to Australia to evacuate the 112 refugees and asylum seekers still trapped there after more than nine years of detention.

A week ago, the organisation sent an ‘‘imminent risk notice’’ to International Health and Medical Services (IHMS), which provides medical care to detainees on Nauru, and the Australian Border Force, but has had no response.

‘‘There is an urgent situation facing everyone who is still trapped offshore,’’ said the centre’s director, Jana Favero.

‘‘The living conditions are dire and compacted by Covid-19 and characterised by a lack of basic necessities.’’

With coronavirus cases rising rapidly, Nauru has locked down. Prices for fresh food and bottled water on the island, which lacks a piped fresh water distribution system, are high.

One refugee, who asked not to be named, has been on Nauru for nearly 10 years. He remains confined to his room in one of the island’s camps and said he has been unable to access bottled water and medication for a fortnight.

‘‘At the moment, it’s lockdown here. It’s been more than two weeks,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t have [fresh] water; we drink sink water.’’

Residents rely on desalination water, harvesting rain and groundwater, and buying bottled water.

There have been complaints stretching back years about inadequate access to water for refugees, who say the water piped into the camps is salty and intended for showers rather than drinking.