Refugees – Rohingya Crisis

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Donors Pledge Over USD 344 Million in Reponse to Rohingya Refugee Crisis
2017-10-23 20:00
Geneva – The international donor community today announced pledges for more than US$344 million to urgently ramp up the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.

Funding was also pledged for the humanitarian response inside Myanmar where violence, insecurity and growing humanitarian needs have sent nearly 600,000 Rohingya from the northern Rakhine state into Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh since 25 August. This ongoing exodus is the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world…

35 pledges were made at the conference in Geneva which was co-organised by the UN Migration Agency (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and with Kuwait and the European Union as co-hosts.

“More than 800,000 stateless Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh aspire to a life that meets their immediate needs for food, medicine, water, and shelter. But beyond that, a life that has hope for the future where their identity is recognised, they are free from discrimination, and are able to return safely to their homes in Myanmar. As we come together in solidarity, I want to thank Bangladesh and its refugee hosting communities and the donors for supporting them,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi….

“Today’s pledges from the international community will help rebuild Rohingya refugees’ lives. Without these vital funds, humanitarians would not be able to continue providing protection and life-saving aid to one of the most vulnerable groups in the world. While we are thankful, I hope that the end of this conference does not mean the end of new funding commitments. We have not reached our target and each percentage point we are under means thousands without food, healthcare and shelter,” said William Lacy Swing, UN Migration Director General.

Conference participants stressed that the international community must help bring a peaceful solution to the plight of the Rohingya and ensure conditions that will allow for their eventual voluntary return in safety and dignity. The origins and the solutions to the crisis lie in Myanmar…

A preliminary list of pledges announced today is available here. Pledges above USD$10 million:
United Kingdom 63,087,248
European Commission 42,452,830
United States of America 38,000,000
Sweden 23,804,576
Australia 23,492,561
Saudi Arabia 20,000,000
CERF 19,000,000
Denmark 18,454,027
Canada 1 15,745,790
Kuwait 15,000,000
Qatar 2 15,000,000

1 Includes an additional $9.6 million announced on 23 October following the close of the conference. /
2 Announced on 24 October.
The UN acknowledges the generous contributions of donors who provide unearmarked or core funding to humanitarian partners, CERF and country-based pooled funds.

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Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Bulletin (MMWB) – Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Volume No 2: 22 October 2017
[Excerpt]
5.1 Cholera vaccination campaign in Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban
Since August 2017, an influx of approximately 600,000 from Myanmar arrived in Bangladesh. Overcrowding, bad sanitation and malnutrition were prevalent and outbreaks of cholera resulting in thousands of cases anticipated. Considering lack of safe drinking water, proper sanitation facilities and poor personal hygiene practices, the UMN camps of two sub-districts, Teknaf and Ukhia, were at high risk of spreading cholera as experience from similar situations in other countries has shown. Moreover, it has been reported that a huge number of people are suffering from acute watery diarrhoea.

Based on field assessments conducted by WHO in the newly established settlements and makeshift camps, the water and sanitation conductions are dire. Sanitation facilities range between 1 latrine per 1,000 to 5,000 people, open defecation is a widespread practice. Coupled with rainfall these pose serious public health threats…

On 10 October 2017, the Government of Bangladesh launched an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign with the support of WHO for 10 days, targeting over 650,000 people in 11 camps/settlements in Cox’s Bazar district, Chittagong division. It was the first OCV campaign to be conducted in the country, and comes at a critical time after UMNs influx to the country since August 2017.

Because of the large numbers of UMNs living in the camps and within the host community and the limited supply of OCV, the vaccination campaign in Cox’s Bazar Bangladesh was limited to UMN camps at full capacity or overcrowded and to all host community areas. The large influx of UMNs increased uncertainty about the size of the target population, data from the most recent measles vaccination campaign (2017) were used to estimate the population aged >1-year-old.

The vaccination campaign was preceded by extensive social mobilization efforts to inform the community of the benefits, availability and necessity of the vaccine. The main message included that vaccination is a preventive measure against cholera that supplements, but does not replace, other traditional cholera control measures such as improving access to safe water and sanitation and hygiene measures/interventions.

The vaccination strategy included a combination of fixed sites and mobile teams for door-to-door vaccine delivery. The vaccine cold chain was maintained, and vaccines were transported using a sufficient number of vaccine carriers and ice packs for a door-to-door strategy. Experience from WHO’s technical staff supported the implementation of this campaign during the public health emergency.

As of October 18, 2017, a total of 700,487 persons were reported to have been vaccinated of them; 691,574 representing 105% % (691,574/658,372) of the target population (Table 2). An additional 8,913 (not included in the original micro-plan) were vaccination in 2 sites; Anjumanpara, and Sabrang Entry Point…