On the 29th July 2018, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck the northern coast of the island of Lombok, located in the Lesser Sunda Islands province. Seven days later, when the community and the aid teams were in the midst of an emergency, another earthquake of magnitude 7 struck the island; and again, on the 19th August, an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 struck Lombok again. The terrified population experienced more than 1,000 aftershocks over the following ten days.

All this caused more than 500 deaths and 1,500 wounded and 396,032 people had to leave their homes and migrate to other areas in a situation of maximum precariousness, without resources and lacking adequate governmental aid.

The lack of assistance and the damage in the water access and sanitation infrastructures triggered different infectious diseases due to bad water. On the other hand, the communities that welcomed those displaced by the disaster do not have enough drinking water and sanitation systems, which is a threat to the health and even the lives of the population. In general, 62% of the displaced people defecate in the open and 58% do not have access to safe water.