Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
- Bangladesh is grappling with multiple crises, including such climate-related disasters as floods, cyclones and landslides, as well as the protracted crisis affecting nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees. By 2025, an estimated 7.9 million people, including 3.2 million children and 1,004,986 Rohingya refugees (52 per cent of children in Cox’s Bazar camps and 56 per cent of children in Bhasan Char) will need humanitarian aid across key sectors.
- UNICEF employs a dual strategy of providing urgent, integrated life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people while strengthening the capacity of national and subnational structures on disaster risk reduction, preparedness and emergency response for sustainability.
- UNICEF aims to reach 2.1 million people, including 529,623 Rohingya refugees, with an integrated multisectoral package in health, nutrition, education, WASH, child protection and risk communication, while connecting humanitarian and development needs.
- UNICEF is appealing for $188.2 million to provide child-focused and equity-sensitive humanitarian support for refugees, host communities and vulnerable populations at risk of public health emergencies and climate disasters in 2025.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
Bangladesh continues to suffer from escalating humanitarian challenges, driven by civil unrest, natural disasters and public health crises. Climate-induced emergencies do not affect all people evenly, with pre-existing gender inequalities worsening the adverse impacts on women, children, people with disabilities and gender-diverse individuals. By September 2024, a total of 18.4 million people had been impacted by a cyclone and floods, with an estimated 6.4 million in need of immediate assistance such as food and clean water. Nearly 2.5 million people were targeted in the Humanitarian Response Plan for monsoon and floods.9 Cyclone Remal, which struck on 26 May 2024, left 1.3 million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Severe flooding hit six districts in the northeastern regions, affecting an additional 3.74 million people (including 1.65 million children) in locations that had not previously been impacted by severe flooding and where households were not prepared for the disaster. These crises have deepened inequalities in affected areas, while recent civil unrest has weakened coordination structures.
The protracted humanitarian situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remains complex. As of 31 October 2024, Bangladesh was hosting 1,004,986 Rohingya refugees (52.8 per cent children). To ease overcrowding in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, the Government relocated 35,890 refugees to Bhasan Char Island beginning in late 2020. Yet conditions in the camps remain dire, with limited access to such essential services as education, protection, health care, food, water and shelter. These inadequacies heighten the risks of mortality, morbidity and protection violations, particularly for women and children. Despite decreased humanitarian funding over the past year, refugees still depend heavily on international assistance to meet basic needs and maintain dignity.
Public health emergencies, particularly regular disease outbreaks, including dengue, threaten vulnerable populations in Bangladesh. In 2024, there were around 1.7 million reported cases of acute watery diarrhoea nationwide as of 29 September, 45 per cent more compared with the same period in 2023 (when there were 755,543 cases).10 Additionally, 193 cholera cases emerged in the Rohingya camps between 23 June and 30 September 2024, caused by stagnant water from cyclones and floods.11 These outbreaks are causing a strain on the health system and highlight the critical need for ongoing investment to address these challenges.
Despite significant government efforts to implement risk-informed development strategies, the recurrence of climate-related disasters and public health emergencies demands enhanced stakeholder collaboration. Thus, innovative human, environmental and economic interventions are critical to building resilience and ensuring sustainable development in this challenging humanitarian context.