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ISCG Situation Report: Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Cox’s Bazar - 25 March 2018

Attachments

Highlights

• 671,500 arrivals since August 2017 are reported as of 15 March, according to the IOM Needs and Population Monitoring (NPM) Round 8 site assessment. The full dataset can be found here.

• As of 18 March 2018, the RRRC Family Counting Exercise, supported by UNHCR, has counted 836,210 refugees in total in camps and settlements – including arrivals both before and after August 2017. This methodology provides population data with gender and age disaggregated statistics, geolocation and specific protection needs at the household level. The Family Counting Exercise is conducted as a house to house exercise with every refugee family being interviewed, and covers Rohingya refugees across camps and settlements. The complete dataset can be found here.

• The RRRC-UNHCR Family Counting and NPM will continue to monitor and triangulate the population figures and report independently based on their individual and complementary methodologies.

• As of 23 March, the Bangladeshi Immigration and Passports Department has registered 1,092,136 people through biometric registration.

• Preparedness for the coming cyclone and monsoon season is a priority.

Situation Overview

Violence in Rakhine State which began on 25 August 2017 has driven an estimated 671,500 Rohingya across the border into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The speed and scale of the influx has resulted in a critical humanitarian emergency. The people who have arrived in Bangladesh since 25 August came with very few possessions. They are now reliant on humanitarian assistance for food, and other lifesaving needs. The Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar is highly vulnerable, after generations of statelessness even before the severe traumas inflicted by this most recent crisis. They are now living in extremely difficult conditions.
Population movements within Cox’s Bazar remain fluid, with increasing concentration in Ukhia, where the Government allocated 2,000 acres for a camp. People arrived at the new site before infrastructure and services could be established. Humanitarian partners are now building necessary infrastructure in challenging conditions, with extremely limited space.