UNB, Cox’s Bazar :
Thousands of Rohingyas who have settled in the villages of Shamlapur, Leda and Unchiprang in the southern part of the district are at ‘risk of being left out’ of humanitarian aid programmes as international attention focuses on the humanitarian crisis in the main Kutupalong and Balukhali settlements.
Since August 25, an estimated 622,000 Rohingyas have fled violence in Myanmar to seek refuge in Cox’s Bazar. This brings the total number of refugees in the district to an estimated 834,000.
Although most are in the main settlements, over 74,000 Rohingya refugees are living in the smaller Shamlapur (22,067), Leda (22,130) and Unchiprang (29,915) sites. IOM emergency managers say the three sites urgently need to be developed. This includes the provision of vital infrastructure, including access roads, lighting and waste management. Unchiprang, which has seen a huge wave of spontaneous settlement in the past three months, is at the greatest risk. Access to clean water is also a major concern across all the locations, particularly as the dry season approaches. Aid agencies
providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are racing to identify solutions to this potentially life-threatening problem.
As with the main settlements, people in the smaller settlements suffer from crowded living conditions, which inhibit the expansion of vital WASH services. “Most of the temporary pit latrines are full. With little to no land for desludging, they are becoming unusable and a danger to communities living nearby,” said IOM WASH specialist Stephen Waswa Otieno. In Leda, he noted, there is only one latrine per 47 people – well below the humanitarian ‘Sphere’ standard of one per 20 people. In Shamlapur, there is one per 16 people, but most are full or dangerous and in need of decommissioning. In Shamplapur, where there is also only one well per 57 people.
Thousands of Rohingyas who have settled in the villages of Shamlapur, Leda and Unchiprang in the southern part of the district are at ‘risk of being left out’ of humanitarian aid programmes as international attention focuses on the humanitarian crisis in the main Kutupalong and Balukhali settlements.
Since August 25, an estimated 622,000 Rohingyas have fled violence in Myanmar to seek refuge in Cox’s Bazar. This brings the total number of refugees in the district to an estimated 834,000.
Although most are in the main settlements, over 74,000 Rohingya refugees are living in the smaller Shamlapur (22,067), Leda (22,130) and Unchiprang (29,915) sites. IOM emergency managers say the three sites urgently need to be developed. This includes the provision of vital infrastructure, including access roads, lighting and waste management. Unchiprang, which has seen a huge wave of spontaneous settlement in the past three months, is at the greatest risk. Access to clean water is also a major concern across all the locations, particularly as the dry season approaches. Aid agencies
providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are racing to identify solutions to this potentially life-threatening problem.
As with the main settlements, people in the smaller settlements suffer from crowded living conditions, which inhibit the expansion of vital WASH services. “Most of the temporary pit latrines are full. With little to no land for desludging, they are becoming unusable and a danger to communities living nearby,” said IOM WASH specialist Stephen Waswa Otieno. In Leda, he noted, there is only one latrine per 47 people – well below the humanitarian ‘Sphere’ standard of one per 20 people. In Shamlapur, there is one per 16 people, but most are full or dangerous and in need of decommissioning. In Shamplapur, where there is also only one well per 57 people.
