UN ramps up aid delivery amid surge of Rohingyas

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Staff Reporter :
The speed and scale of people fleeing Myanmar has triggered a humanitarian emergency in Bangladesh, where tens of thousands of refugees depend on humanitarian assistance for shelter, food, water and other life-saving needs, says the United Nations migration agency.
 “The seriousness of the situation cannot be ignored,” said International Organization for Migration (IOM) Bangladesh Chief of Mission Sarat Dash in a press statement on Saturday.
According to the IOM-hosted Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) of aid agencies, an estimated 5,36,000 people have fled Myanmar and arrived in Cox’s Bazar in the past 47 days. Numbers spiked again when some 15,000 more
crossed into Bangladesh between 9-11 October.
Prior to the August influx, infrastructure and basic services in Cox’s Bazar were already under strain as it hosted over 2,00,000 displaced Rohingyas
 “These people are malnourished and there is insufficient access to clean water and sanitation in many of the spontaneous sites. They are highly vulnerable. They have fled conflict, experienced severe trauma and are now living in extremely difficult conditions,” underscored Dash.
With many of the new arrivals requiring immediate health assistance, agencies have appealed for $48 million to scale up primary health care in the new settlements for the next six months.
 “The risk of an outbreak of communicable disease is very high given the crowded living conditions and the lack of adequate clean water and sanitation,” said IOM Senior Regional Health Officer Patrick Duigan, pointing out that maternal, newborn and child health care are also in desperately short supply.
Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been working with the Government in a new ‘family counting’ exercise to collect data on the estimated 5,36,000 newly arrived refugees and their needs.
 “The exercise will enable the Government, UNHCR and other agencies to have a better understanding of the size and breakdown of the population and where they are located,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters at Saturday’s regular press briefing in Geneva.
 “It is key for reaching the right aid to the right people. It will also help flag refugees with special protection needs, such as single mothers with small infants, people with disabilities, or children and elderly refugees who are on their own,” he added.
The exercise has so far counted 17,855 families – more than 70,000 individuals. It is currently being carried out in the Balukhali Extension and Kutupalong Extension camps and should cover an estimated 5,25,000 people over the coming weeks.
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