Violence and persecution in Myanmar has driven over 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar and left over 3.5 million people internally displaced. These families have often trekked miles through the jungle, or braved dangerous sea voyages to reach safety.
Bangladesh generously hosts close over one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, making it one of the largest protracted refugee situations in the world. Many Rohingya families live in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh in overcrowded refugee camps with basic facilities, where they are highly exposed to weather-related disasters, such as cyclones, flooding and landslides.
The camps are vast, overcrowded and basic. Kutupalong is now the largest camp of its kind in the world, with more than 942,000 people living in just 13 km². Infrastructure and services there are stretched to their limits, with many families lacking adequate shelter, clean water and proper sanitation.
The situation was further exacerbated by a fire that swept through Kutupalong Balukhali refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar on 5th March 2023, destroying buildings and leaving some 12,000 people homeless.
UNHCR teams lead the protection response and are hard at work in all the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar – providing life-saving essentials to families. We also support education and healthcare initiatives, such as immunisation programmes to protect against disease. UNHCR also helps refugees fortify their shelters and prepare for the monsoon season.
Rohingya refugees have been through so much. Please help them to survive and rebuild their lives.
