Rohingya Response | Rohingya Response

UN and Partners Appeal for Sustained Support as Rohingya Refugee Influx Marks 6th Year in Bangladesh

25 August marks six years since over 700,000 Rohingya women, men and children from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh. They joined hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya who had previously sought refuge in the country. The UN and partners call for renewed commitment from the international community for financial support to sustain the humanitarian response and political support to find solutions for nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Flash Update on Monsoon Response of 5-8 August 2023

Due to continuous rainfall, there is a risk of landslides in specific areas of Cox’s Bazar, especially in Cox’s Bazar Sadar, part of Hnila (Nayapara Registered Camp and adjacent areas), and Baharchhara unions of Teknaf sub-district, Marine drive/Jaliapalong adjacent areas, Balukhali areas of Ukhiya sub-district, and part of Khuniapalong of Ramu sub-district.

Rohingya Struggle to Meet Their Nutritional Needs with Latest Food Ration Cuts

Due to a massive funding shortfall, drastic measures were taken. WFP was forced to cut the value of food vouchers for camp residents for the second time in three months at the beginning of June. From receiving $12 a month at the beginning of the year, refugees saw their rations cut to $10 in March, and now to just $8, or 27 cents a day.

Cyclone Mocha Response

Cyclone Mocha struck the Bangladesh-Myanmar border on Sunday 14 May afternoon, bringing heavy rains, strong winds of up to 115 kilometers per hour, and devastating damage to the fragile infrastructure of Rohingya refugee camps and shelters made of bamboo and tarpaulin. Initial assessments reveal that tens of thousands of families have been affected and homes and key facilities have been destroyed, especially in the Rohingya camps in the Teknaf area and neighbouring Bangladeshi communities.

UNHCR, Partners Seek $876m for Rohingya Refugees Facing 'Chilling Fog of Uncertainty' and for Bangladeshi Hosts

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners are calling on the international community to redouble efforts for sustained financial support and solutions for Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi communities that are hosting them as the dire situation enters its sixth year. Under the leadership of the Bangladeshi authorities, the 2023 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis calls for $876 million to reach 1.47 million people. The Joint Response Plan brings together 116 partners, nearly half of them national organizations from Bangladesh.

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About the Rohingya Refugee Response

Large-scale forced displacement of the Rohingya — an ethnic, linguistic, and religious minority from Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State — into Bangladesh has occurred in 1978, 1992, 2012, and again in 2016. On all occasions, Bangladesh has generously sheltered Rohingya refugees temporarily. For the most part on previous occasions, the Rohingya have returned to their ancestral home in Rakhine State.

The largest forced displacement from Myanmar into Bangladesh began in August 2017. As of 30 April 2023, 960,128 Rohingya refugees – largely women and children — are residing in thirty-three camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas of the Cox’s Bazar District, as well as on the island of Bhasan Char.

Under the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh, the humanitarian response has supported thousands of refugees since August 2017. Today, 116+ partners including 10 UN agencies 106 international and national NGOs are working closely with the Government in supporting one million Rohingya Refugees and half a million Bangladeshi host communities pending a durable solution.

The collective needs of the Rohingya refugee response for the UN and I/NGOs is outlined in the Joint Response Plan, that is issued annually with the support of the Government.

Joint Response Plan

2023 Joint Response Plan: Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis in Bangladesh

Under the leadership of the Bangladesh Government, the 2023 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis was launched on 07 March. The JRP is developed yearly and is an annual fundraising document and articulates the shared vision of how the humanitarian community will respond to the assessed and expressed needs of Rohingya refugees and affected host communities.

Through the 2023 JRP, the UN and its partners are calling on the international community to extend financial support to address the prioritized needs of Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi communities that are hosting them as the refugee crisis enters its sixth year. The 2023 JRP requests $876 million to reach 1.47 million people, including Rohingya refugees sheltered in Cox’s Bazar and Bashan Char and Bangladeshi host communities in Ukhiya and Teknaf. The 2023 JRP brings together 116 partners including UN Agencies, Bangladeshi and international NGOs. Nearly half of them are national organizations from Bangladesh.

The 2023 JRP is focusing on five key objectives:

1. Work towards the sustainable and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees/Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) to Myanmar.
2. Strengthen the protection of Rohingya refugees/FDMN women, men, girls, and boys.
3. Deliver life-saving assistance to populations in need.
4. Foster the well-being of host communities in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas.
5. Strengthen disaster risk management and combat the effects of climate change.

Read 2023 JRP

Read All jrps

1.47 M

People to Assist

$876 M

Funding Needed

116

Partners

Sectors in Cox’s Bazar

Education

Food Security

Protection (including CP and GBV)

Health

Shelter - Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM)

Livelihoods and Skills Development

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Nutrition

Response in Bhasan Char

The Government of Bangladesh has established infrastructural facilities on Bhasan Char and supports the humanitarian community to deliver essential services to Rohingya refugees. On 9 October 2021, the Government of Bangladesh and UNHCR (on behalf of the UN agencies) signed an MOU that established a common policy framework based on protection and humanitarian principles for ongoing and future efforts on Bhasan Char. The MOU affirmed a joint commitment to ensure that Rohingya sheltered on Bhasan Char have access to services including protection, shelter, food and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, education in the Myanmar curriculum in the Myanmar language, as well as the ability to engage in livelihoods, capacity building activities, and skills development commensurate with opportunities available in Rakhine State in Myanmar. By the end of December 2022, the Government of Bangladesh had facilitated the voluntary relocation of around 30,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char.

The Rohingya refugee response on Bhasan Char aims to meet the humanitarian and protection needs of the Rohingya. The Rohingya refugee response on Bhasan Char aims to support and complement the work of the Government of Bangladesh, which is leading the overall humanitarian response. The Government in partnership with UN agencies will make best efforts to ensure equity of standards and parity of services for the Rohingya refugees living in Bhasan Char and Cox’s Bazar camps.