Myanmar-Bangladesh Refugee Crisis

In August 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya—an ethnic minority group in Myanmar—fled violence and persecution in their country and settled in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, in the neighboring country of Bangladesh.

Currently, 908,000 refugees are in the camp, and more than 1 million people in the camp and in host communities need humanitarian assistance. The Myanmar government denies the Rohingya citizenship and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Without a place to call home, refugees have sought shelter in camps, makeshift settlements, and host  communities. Their lack of essentials such as food, shelter, and healthcare, and the absence of security and normalcy leaves them feeling unsettled.

Between September 2018 and December 2018, World Vision’s programs in Cox’s Bazar reached more than 264,000 people with lifesaving humanitarian assistance. This included:

• Reaching 158,000 people with clean water, sanitation facilities, and proper hygiene promotion
• Distributing relief items such as hygiene kits, cooking equipment, baby supplies, and feminine hygiene products to 150,000 people
• Providing nutrition support to more than 30,000 children and mothers
• Assisting 22,500 people with cash-for-work activities
• Organizing weekly child protection activities for 1,700 children

World Vision remains highly engaged in advocacy surrounding the Rohingya situation within Bangladesh and globally, especially around issues of repatriation and relocation. In Myanmar, supporters like you helped World Vision raise $122,000 that mobilized $765,000 in U.S. government funding, reaching over 18,000 people. And in Bangladesh, $528,000 in gifts was leveraged to mobilize nearly $2 million from UNICEF to help 100,000 refugees receive clean water and proper sanitation.

Thank you for your generosity!

LOOKING AHEAD

New strategic priorities have been identified for the refugee response program in Bangladesh. As funding allows, World Vision plans to expand our work into the education sector; scale up work in child protection and gender-based violence protection; and continue programs in the areas of nutrition, cash-for-work activities, and water, sanitation, and hygiene.

• Bangladesh_Mynamar_Refugees_Factsheet__December_2018.pdf (PDF)