Rohingya Crisis: Refugee Camps in Bangladesh are in Crisis – Urgent Need to Expand Aid Company Releases | Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Electronic Edition

Published by: Doctors Without Borders

There is an urgent need to expand aid to the Rohingya Muslim minority who are fleeing from Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh. Sanitary conditions in the refugee camps are poor, and food shortages and low vaccination rates are expected to exacerbate health hazards. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has treated more than 13,500 patients in nearly three weeks, but the need is enormous and a massive increase in humanitarian aid is needed to avoid massive public health damage. It has become. At least 422,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state to Bangladesh after three weeks of filthy and excrement-filled camps. Hundreds of thousands of people have already fled Bangladesh since the outbreak of violence in October 2016, and more refugees have now joined. In the southeastern part of the country, the existing refugee camps of Kutupalong and Barukhali have been merged into a large overcrowded camp with a population of about 500,000, making it one of the largest refugee-receiving facilities in the world. Most of the newly arrived refugees stay in these camps, which lack housing, food, clean water and toilets. “The camp is really a slum, with poor access and difficulty in delivering aid. Rough terrain, landslide prone, and no toilets at all. We have to go through sewage and excrement.” Kate White, MSF's emergency medical coordinator, points out the poor sanitary conditions in the camp. Drinking water is scarce, so refugees drink water collected from paddy fields, puddles and hand-dug shallow wells. These shallow wells are often contaminated with excrement. Between 6 and 17 September, 487 people were treated for diarrheal diseases at the Kutupalong MSF clinic. “The adult patients that MSF receives every day are dehydrated and hovering between life and death,” White said. ', he says. Securing food in and around the camps, where food and medical care are inadequate, has also become difficult. While new refugees rely entirely on humanitarian aid, prices are skyrocketing in the surrounding areas and roads are inadequate, making it difficult to reach even the most helpless. Food rations are inadequate, and many refugees with little money live on just one bowl of rice a day. “One refugee said that when there were no food rations for several days, a family of six shared a bowl of rice provided by a Bangladeshi restaurant owner,” says White. Medical assistance is also in short supply, with MSF clinics and other medical facilities completely out of reach. During the three weeks from 25 August to 17 September, MSF clinics had a total of 9,602 outpatients, 3,344 emergency patients, 427 inpatients, 225 injured victims of violence and victims of sexual violence. 23 people, which is not enough in the face of enormous needs. Rohingya immunization coverage in Myanmar is known to be low before large-scale disasters occur, and the risk of infectious disease outbreaks in refugee camps in Bangladesh is also very high. Comprehensive measles and cholera vaccination campaigns need to be implemented quickly to avoid these risks. MSF has set up a preliminary isolation section at the Kutupalong health facility to quickly contain all suspected and confirmed cases of cholera and measles. “Due to shortages of housing, food, water and sanitation, small things can trigger outbreaks of disease that can escalate into catastrophes. ”. MSF emergency response coordinator Robert Ounas stresses the need to address disasters before they become large scale disasters. MSF work in Bangladesh MSF has been working in Bangladesh since 1985. Currently, it operates medical facilities and clinics near refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, providing basic and emergency medical care as well as inpatient care and testing for Rohingya refugees and local residents. In response to this large-scale influx of refugees, water, sanitation facilities, and medical activities are being expanded. Elsewhere in Bangladesh, it provides psychological care, reproductive health care, family planning, antenatal care and occupational health programs for factory workers in Kamrangirchal, a slum area of ​​the capital Dhaka. Corporate Press ReleaseDetailsPRTIMES top

Information source: PRTIMES Source of this release: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000379.000004782.html It is current as of the date of publication. Please note that it is subject to change without prior notice.