Dire situation for Rohingya children could become ‘catastrophic,’ as new threats loom – UNICEF
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16 January 2018 – As the Bay of Bengal region gears up for cyclone and monsoon seasons, the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) is warning that more than half-a-millon Rohingya children already living in “horrific” conditions in
makeshift settlements in Bangladesh may face compounded risks of disease and displacement.
“What is already a dire humanitarian situation risks becoming a catastrophe,” Edouard Beigbeder, the head of UNICEF
programmes in Bangladesh said Tuesday, raising alarm over the impact of the approaching cyclone and monsoon seasons.
“Hundreds of thousands of children are already living in horrific conditions, and they will face an even greater risk of
disease, flooding, landslides and further displacement.”
According to the UN agency, an outbreak of diphtheria in the camps has already claimed some 32 lives, including at least
of 24 children, with more than 4,000 suspected cases reported.
To contain the outbreak and save lives, UN agencies, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), and
relief partners are working to vaccinate close to 500,000 children against diphtheria.
But lack of medical services and limited water and sanitation facilities in many settlements, combined with
overcrowding, and growing risk of heavy rains and storms could complicate the situation even further.
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheria. The illness has an acute onset
and is fatal in 5-10% of cases, with a higher mortality rate in young children.
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“Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene conditions can lead to cholera outbreaks and to Hepatitis E, a
deadly disease for pregnant women and their babies, while standing water pools can attract malaria-carrying mosquitos.
Keeping children safe from disease must be an absolute priority,” Mr. Beigbeder added.
Since 25 August, widespread violence in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state has forced over 650,000 members of the Rohingya
community to flee their homes and seek shelter across the border in Bangladesh. A number of UN agencies, together with
humanitarian partners and the Bangladesh Government have been providing them with life-saving support.
Choice to return home should be that of refugees themselves – UNHCR
Meanwhile, amid reports of discussions between the Governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar concerning the return of
Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the returns should
be voluntary.
“UNHCR underscores the importance of the dialogue between the two States at the core of which is the right of refugees
to voluntarily return home,” a spokesperson for the UN agency told the press at a regular briefing in Geneva, Tuesday.
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