Bangladesh

by Jessy Hampton | Oct 20, 2017

With half a million Rohingya refugees having fled Myanmar for nearby Bangladesh, Medical Teams International is rushing to prevent the spread of deadly diseases at the cramped makeshift camps. A 20-person team of doctors, nurses, and support staff is on the ground, improving the health of thousands in the midst of what's become the worst refugee crisis in the world.

More than 500,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since the end of August from neighboring Myanmar. Handicap International is stepping up its humanitarian aid effort in response to this crisis, which is unprecedented in the region. Since August 25, the organization has already supplied humanitarian assistance to 15,000 people. Nearly 700 people have already been given rehabilitation care, 4,000 have received emergency psychological support, and we have recorded nearly 6,000 extremely vulnerable individuals.

Our Actions

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – “My sister was killed after gang rape in front of me, and they threw hot water on my body,” Fatima*, 30, told a case worker at a UNFPA-supported women-friendly space in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Almost 600,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border since 25 August, escaping brutal violence amid the escalating crisis in Myanmar’s Rahkine State.

They’ve joined the 300,000 Rohingya refugees who had already fled into Bangladesh, compounding one of the fastest-growing humanitarian crises in recent times.

Trends and Key Figures

The majority of those arriving in Bangladesh from Myanmar are distressed and exhausted women and children. Plan International urges the Government of Bangladesh to facilitate unhindered access to the settlements in Cox's Bazar so the child protection response can be scaled up.

The needs of vulnerable Rohingya children arriving in Bangladesh must be prioritised by the international community. Adolescent girls, in particular, must be protected, as they are one of the groups most at risk of gender-based violence within the camps.

Key facts

2,950 Estimated number of UAC currently in Greece based on analysis from referrals to EKKA (as of 15 October 2017)

1,114 Total number of places available in UAC shelters (filled, pending assigned cases as of 15 October, including 20 vacant places)

1,822 Total number of UAC on waiting list for shelter (as of 15 October 2017) including:

Cox's Bazar - Yesterday (19/10) over 6,900 Rohingya refugees who were stranded in dire conditions in no-man’s land at Anjuman Para on Bangladesh’s side of the border, were moved by the Bangladesh military to several makeshift settlements in the Ukhia and Teknaf sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar. Some 800,000 Rohingyas are now living in the settlements, 589,000 of whom have arrived since August 25th.

The 15 000 people who had been in no-man's land for four days were allowed to enter Bangladesh. As observed by the DG ECHO team, new arrivals continue. Many are ignoring the transit camp and proceeding directly to the Kutupalong Expansion Camp.

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Duniya Aslam Khan – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Thousands of refugees from Myanmar have been admitted to Bangladesh after spending up to four days stranded near the border.

By last night Bangladesh border guards reported that over 6,800 refugees had passed through Anjuman Para border village in Cox’s Bazar district. Thousands more are said to be on their way from Myanmar.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (October 19, 2017) — Overcrowding, a lack of schooling and widespread desperation among the Rohingya in camps and makeshift settlements in Bangladesh are putting children at an alarming risk of exploitation and abuse, Save the Children has warned.

More than 450,000 school-age Rohingya children are currently out of school in Bangladesh – including 270,000 who have arrived since the violence and killing broke out in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State on August 25 – taking away one of the most important protective mechanisms for children.

More countries need to step up and pledge their support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh amid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, Amnesty International said today.

The meeting of high-level representatives of donor countries at the UN’s office in Geneva on Monday must include pledges of new money, including from countries in the region, to support rising numbers of Rohingya refugees who have sought shelter in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district.

Save the Children has a global Gender Equality Policy that mandates promoting gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women, a policy that is grounded in both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This report focuses on the furthering of gender equality in Bangladesh, which ranks 111 in the Gender Inequality Index (Human Development Report, 2015).

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh 20 October 2017 - More than 700 000 people over the age of one year have been administered oral cholera vaccine in the first phase of a campaign here to protect the newly arrived Rohingya population and their host communities against the deadly diarrheal disease.

by Diana Quick

ChildFund Alliance is responding to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh, where more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border to escape civil conflict in Myanmar.

Geneva Palais Briefing
This is a summary of what was said by UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.