Agencies rush to aid Rohingya refugees as winter bites

As Rohingya Muslim refugees continue to flood into Bangladesh to escape persecution in Rakhine, Myanmar, aid workers are warning of an escalation in disease as the weather turns colder.

“The total number of Rohingya refugees has now reached 607,000,” says Mohammed Nikarujjaman, the commissioner of Ukhia sub-district, in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News. Reports suggest that as many as 200 Rohingya refugees continue to arrive in Bangladesh every day, more than two months since the influx began on Aug. 25.

And with winter setting in, doctors in the local camps report an increase in cold-borne diseases, particularly in children, among the refugees.

Mohammed Abul Hashem, a coordinator at Kutupalang refugee camp, said temperatures have dropped noticeably over the past week and refugees now require blankets at night, since they are living in a hilly area.

“In the last two days, I was informed of the death of five children in the camp,” he added.

“In the last week, more than 50 percent of patients have been admitted with cold-borne diseases like fever, cough or pneumonia,” said Dr. Toma, head of a medical center run by the NGO Gonoshasthaya Kendra in the Balukhali refugee camp. “The majority of the patients are children. We are offering them free medicine. But we are also getting a significant number of elderly patients with acute respiratory problems due to the cold and highly congested living conditions.”

Aid agencies are doing their best to meet the refugees’ needs.

“In the last few days, we have been asking for blankets and winter clothes from everyone who contacts us to support the Rohingya refugees,” Nikarujjaman told Arab News. “We have already started receiving blankets from volunteers. And we we have a huge number of blankets reserved in government warehouses, which we will start distributing soon.”

He added that “the refugees here are now receiving a significant amount of food relief every day. On Sunday, we distributed 170 tons of food items among the refugees.”

Sakil Faizullah, communication specialist at UNICEF Bangladesh, told Arab News, “We have already started working to collect winter clothes and blankets and we expect to distribute them in the next couple of days.

“UNICEF will provide winter clothes to every child,” he continued. “No child will be left out."

Source: arabnews