Responding to the news that UN officials have called for nearly $1bn (USD) in assistance for the nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, Biraj Patnaik, said:
“The money is urgently needed to help the Rohingya refugees to be able to live in safe and adequate living conditions in the camps in Bangladesh. This is not a short-term crisis and there is little prospect of them being able to return to their homes in Rakhine State any time soon.
“As the monsoon season looms, there is a great risk of landslides and floods striking the camps. The threat of diseases, such as diphtheria, measles and cholera, has to be aggressively combated with mass vaccinations and appropriate sanitation. The refugees also need food, clean water and healthcare. The needs of the local host communities, which have been severely affected, must also be carefully considered.
“Bangladesh cannot be abandoned to deal with this situation alone. At a time when the world’s wealthiest countries have turned refugees away, it has opened its doors to nearly a million people. The international community must help Bangladesh as it tends to the critical needs of the victims of ethnic cleansing.”
Background
In October 2017, members of the international community pledged $345 million of the $434 million that the UN said was needed to support the immediate needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
The UN is set to make a fresh appeal for $950 million this week.
