News Desk : Around 150,000 Rohingyas have entered Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh during the past 18 months, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UN Refugee Agency, along with its humanitarian partners, is actively working to address the urgent needs of these newly arrived refugees, it said.

Persistent persecution and targeted violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State coupled with the ongoing conflict have continued to drive large numbers of Rohingya to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

This influx of Rohingya refugees is the most significant movement from Myanmar since 2017, when approximately 750,000 people fled the widespread violence in Rakhine State.

Bangladesh has generously hosted Rohingya refugees for generations.

In Cox’s Bazar, these new arrivals join another nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees crammed into just 24 square kilometres – making the camps one of the world’s most densely populated places.

Among the new arrivals, nearly 121,000 had been biometrically identified by the end of June, with more believed to be residing informally in the already overcrowded refugee camps.

The overwhelming majority are women and children.

Biometric identification has allowed humanitarian partners in Bangladesh to provide the new arrivals with basic services, including food, medical care, education and essential relief items.

However, this will soon dry up without an immediate injection of funds. Access to shelter and other key necessities is also insufficient in the face of limited resources.

With the acute global funding crisis, the critical needs of both newly-arrived refugees and those already present will be unmet, and essential services for the whole Rohingya refugee population are at risk of collapsing.

Unless additional funds are secured, health services will be severely disrupted by September and essential cooking fuel (LPG) will run out.

By December, food assistance will stop.

Education for some 230,000 children – including 63,000 new arrivals – is at risk of being discontinued.

Refugees in the camps have already felt the impact of these reductions. They fear more cuts are looming. This is fuelling a sense of desperation and anxiety, and driving some to embark on dangerous sea journeys to other countries in search of safety and a more dignified life for their families.

UNHCR and humanitarian partners also call on the international community to stand in solidarity with Bangladesh and other countries in the region hosting Rohingya refugees.

Until there is peace and stability in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, conducive to safe and voluntary return, the international community must continue to support efforts to provide life-saving assistance to Rohingya forced to flee.

Source: UNB