Since 2017, Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar and sought refuge in Bangladesh. Almost a million Rohingya are currently living in the worlds largest refugee camp, in Cox's Bazar and 60% of them are children. They rely entirely on humanitarian assistance for protection, food, water, shelter and health, and they are living in temporary shelters in highly congested camp settings. Nearly 500,000 children still face disease outbreaks, malnutrition, inadequate educational opportunities.
There are acute shortages of everything, most critically, shelter, food and clean water. Conditions on the ground place children at high risk of water-borne diseases. Children and adolescents, especially girls, are vulnerable to trafficking as different child trafficking groups are active in the region. The needs continue to grow as the influx of Rohingya refugees increase.
UNICEF has been providing a steady stream of supplies such as trucks filled with emergency water, sanitation and hygiene supplies for thousands of Rohingya children. Other supplies include detergent powder, soap, along with sanitary napkins, towels and sandals. In addition, UNICEF is working on identifying malnutrition, strengthening child protection systems, immunization and getting children back in to school to support the spread of life-saving information and psychosocial support.
UNICEF and its partners are scaling up the emergency response in Bangladesh to support the needs of the Rohingya refugee children and their families. In emergencies, children are typically the hardest hit and require support to survive and outlive the physical and mental trauma of displacement. UNICEF is committed to putting children first before, during and after an emergency.
