Some 501,800 new arrivals of Rohingyas from Myanmar were reported as of September 27 though the influx is now slower than the recent past, says a new report on Thursday.
The latest figure was said to be 448,100 as mentioned in IOM Needs and Population Monitoring assessments in four upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district; 35,000 in refugee camps reported by UNHCR and 18,700 reported by field staff in Naikhongchhari, Bandarbhan district.
Over the last two days, the movement across the border in Cox’s Bazar has reportedly decreased again.
The people who have arrived since August 25 continue to move to the new Kutupalong Expansion site, where they are constructing new shelters.
Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) hosted by IOM came up with the updates on Thursday in its report titled ‘Situation Update: Rohingya Influx’.
The RRRC is leading on the Kutupalong Expansion project along with the Site Management Taskforce, which includes UNHCR, IOM and other key implementing agencies. Twenty ‘blocks’ have been identified by the RRRC.
Agencies continue to focus on delivering aid wherever people have settled.
Road access continues to be a constraint for humanitarian assistance delivery, with road repairs underway.
As of today, 615 meters of road construction has been completed in Balukhali, while water trucking continues to Unchiparang site, providing an average 7.5 liters per person every day.
A total of 367 emergency pit latrines have been installed to date in Unchiprang, Balukhali and Kutupalong expansion site.
Delays (of 5-6 days) in customs and tax exemption certificates have been reported by partners, said the report.
Coordination is going on with MoDMR on setting up a One-Stop-Shop in order to streamline the process. Currently, there are 35 partner organisations (UN agencies, I/NGOs) are working in Cox’s Bazar district.
More agencies have plans for responses and are waiting for FD7 approval from NGOAB. The ISC team is liaising with the NGO Bureau Affairs to speed up approval process.
Violence in Rakhine State which began on August 25, 2017 has driven an estimated newly arrived 501,800 Rohingyas across the border into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
The speed and scale of the influx have resulted in a critical humanitarian emergency. Those who have arrived in Bangladesh since 25 August came with very few possessions.
They have used the majority of their savings on transportation and constructing a shelter, often out of no more than bamboo and thin plastic. They are now reliant on humanitarian assistance for food, and other life-saving needs.
Basic services that were available prior to the influx are under severe strain due to the massive increase in people in the area. In some of the sites that have spontaneously emerged, there is no access to water and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of an outbreak of disease.
The Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar is highly vulnerable, having fled conflict and experienced severe trauma, and now living in extremely difficult conditions.
Population movements within Cox’s Bazar remain highly fluid, with increasing concentration in Ukhia, where the government has allocated 2,000 acres for a new camp.
People have begun arriving at the new, proposed site before infrastructure and services can be established.
Crucially, there is a limited access to the site and no road through this site; this is preventing the development of infrastructure, including water and sanitation facilities.
The government has established a mechanism to receive donation from private individuals and organisations that are not registered to work in Cox’s Bazar.
Some 12 distributions points have been established to try and curb ad hoc distributions along the roads, which have been creating serious safety and security risks.
