More than 9,000 Rohingya have been affected by floods and landslides in Bangladesh since June. HI teams continue to assist affected populations amidst a challenging environment.
Urgent needs
In August 2017, HI launched an emergency response to assist hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar. Since June 2018, these already vulnerable people have had to face torrential rain, floods, and landslides, making it difficult for our teams to reach individuals and deliver humanitarian supplies.
“Nine thousand refugees are affected by the floods and have been urgently relocated to other areas of the camp,” Jean-Loup Gouot, director of HI in Bangladesh explains. “This situation weakens an already vulnerable population who live in precarious conditions and are particularly exposed to the risk of natural disasters such as cyclones. There’s also a threat of cholera epidemics. Those affected urgently need a weather-resistant shelter, and access to water, food, and health care.”
“We continue to provide rehabilitation care and psychological support to the most vulnerable and help deliver humanitarian aid to refugees. But due to bad weather, we only have access to 70% of our response areas. We are looking into alternative ways to access the most vulnerable individuals and to give them the support they need," adds Jean-Loup Gouot.
Our projects in aid of Rohingya refugees
Since August 2017, HI has assisted more than 24,000 Rohingya refugees in the Kutupalong, Balukhali, Unchipranget, and Nayapara camps. Our actions to date:
- Deployed 10 mobile teams, consisting of physical therapists, psychosocial wurkers, nurses, protection workers, and sports educations, who travel to the camps to identify the most vulnerable people and offer them rehabilitation care, psychological support, and recreational activities.
- Provided rehabilitation care in homes and hospitals in Cox’s Bazar to more than 8,000 people.
- Supplied more than 1,000 mobility aids such as crutches, wheelchairs, and walkers to people in need.
- Provided individual or group psychological support to more than 8,500 people.
- Arranged two storage areas in Unchiprang and Dhumdumia to store the equipment of other international humanitarian organizations.
- Arranged a fleet of 346 trucks carrying more than 35 cubic feet of humanitarian equipment (hygiene kits, mobility aids, etc.).
- Distributed hygiene kits to more than 4,000 people.
- Distributed 5,000 food rations and more than 900 accommodation kits to vulnerable individuals.