Four years ago this week, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled persecution in Myanmar for safety in Bangladesh. Action Against Hunger was there to help in 2017, and we stand with this vulnerable population, which continues to face immense challenges.
Currently, about 1.2 million Rohingya live in refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh – the largest group of refugee camps in the world. Much of Bangladesh’s dense population already lives in poverty, and the country lacks the means to adequately accommodate the displaced Rohingya population, resulting in severe resource shortages.
In response to this ongoing crisis, Action Against Hunger continues to provide emergency assistance to help the Rohingya people in Bangladesh. Our teams have been on the ground in Cox’s Bazar since 2007, and in 2017, we dramatically scaled up our work to help the influx of newly arrived Rohingya.
In the first four months of the crisis in 2017, our programs served 603,243 refugees. This work included:
The Rohingya people fled Myanmar with just what they could carry, and more arrived in Bangladesh without adequate clothing or food. The living conditions inside the camps are catastrophic: they are overcrowded, poorly lit, and lacking adequate sanitation. Residents of the camps, particularly women and children, are vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and human trafficking.
Furthermore, the camps are under constant threat of flooding, landslides, fires, and other disasters. Residents live in makeshift shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulins, or with no shelter at all – according to the United Nations, 5,000 Rohingya in the Cox’s Bazar camps have no roof over their heads. Last month, heavy rains fell, and the resulting flooding and landslides destroyed many shelters. Mosques and cemeteries were also flooded.
In March 2021, devastating fires tore through several of the camps, burning thousands of shelters and further exacerbating the crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has put further strain on this vulnerable population, particularly by exacerbating food insecurity.
Despite the magnitude of the crisis, we must not give up.
In response to COVID-19, our teams have held awareness sessions for 203,185 people since the start of the pandemic. We also implemented hygiene promotion activities and infection prevention and control measures. In July 2020, we coordinated the opening of a new COVID-19 isolation and treatment center, an extension of Sadar Hospital in Cox’s Bazar. We continue to implement health and nutrition programs to support local Bangladeshi residents, in addition to refugees.
We’re also working to improve food security and access to clean water and mental health services. Every two weeks, we distribute food parcels containing rice, legumes, and cooking oil in the camps. We also launched an initiative that provides meals to 38,458 people in Cox’s Bazar, serving refugees as well as the local population.
