Attachments
Impact and participation mechanisms for Rohingya Refugees
CONTEXT
Rohingya refugees living in Ukhiya and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar district have relied heavily on humanitarian assistance. For the first time, the response to the Rohingya’s protracted crisis has led to the reduction of refugees’ food assistance and soap distribution, and an adjustment of assistance in Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) as of September 2023.
An estimated 965,4671 refugees used to receive food assistance via vouchers valued at US$12 per person per month, and families were able to choose from over 40 dry and fresh food items located at World Food Programme (WFP) outlets available throughout the camps. On February 2023, WFP announced the reduction of food voucher entitlement from US$12 to US$10 per person per month starting 1 March 2023. A second round of reduction of food voucher entitlement from USD$10 to USD$8 came into effect on 1 June 2023. The food cut announcement by WFP was made through various channels, including door-to-door leaflets, sub-block level key message dissemination, and outreach to different stakeholders at the outlets, with a focus on key messages for Beneficiary Nominee Families (BNFs).
The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector also decreased the number of bathing soap on the 1 June 2023: refugees are now receiving one bathing soap3 per person per month instead of two. Additionally, the implementation of pressure cookers was introduced (with associated training) to reduce the amount of LPG, with LPG refill adjustment starting on 5 June 2023 among the population who had already received pressure cookers.
Rohingya Refugee Response partners seek to ensure refugees are participating meaningfully in decisions that affect them and engage in priorities linked to the ongoing funding shortages. Considering the recent adjustments to assistance, the Protection Sector and its partners seek to strengthen Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) in an effort to increase effective quality assurance across the response regarding the needs of people, and in accordance with their age, gender, and diversity.
This report reflects the findings from a series of community consultations conducted by the mentioned partners in August 2023 to better understand how the refugee community perceives the adjustments to assistance, and how the humanitarian community can better involve them in any potential future decisions on adjustments. For more information, and on the methodology of the consultations, see the last page of this report.
The first part of this report outlines how refugees were consulted and how they learnt about the changes to food rations, soap rations, and LPG cycles, including information-provision and their understanding of the reasons why these adjustments took place. The second part describes the impact that the adjustments of assistance had on specific population groups and within the community, and any other possible impacts on access to other assistance and services, according to refugees. The third part outlines refugees’ perceptions of the effectiveness of feedback channels available to them during this time, and opinions and suggestions on how to improve the way in which humanitarian organizations make these decisions, implement the changes, and communicate the updates. Finally, as a way forward, communities were also consulted on the assistance and services they would prioritize the most and the least, and any specific groups or persons who should be prioritized, if further adjustments were to take place in the future.
The views and priorities shared by refugees in this document through community-based consultations pave the way to improve decision-making processes that directly impact refugee lives and will help develop better communication and feedback tools to ensure accountability and transparency. Moreover, coordination of community engagement will contribute to minimize risks of misinformation, rumours, and duplication of efforts, which will also allow to better respond by placing at the centre the dignity, capacity, and ability of Rohingya refugees.