Struggle of vulnerable Rohingyas continues

Vulnerable Rohingyas, including aged people, pregnant and lactating women, orphan children and people with disabilities, entering Bangladesh to flee ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State of Myanmar continue struggling for survival in absence of relief work focused on them.
These Rohingyas taking shelter on hill slopes or erecting makeshift houses cutting forest trees in Cox’s Bazar are highly vulnerable and living in difficult conditions with a little medical facilities and poor access to water and sanitation facilities.
According to an ongoing family counting, jointly conducted by Bangladesh government’s Refugee Relief
and Repatriation Commissioner’s office and UNHCR, one-third of the Rohingya families are vulnerable.
‘Long distribution pathways and a lack of signposting lead to heightened risks for women, children, elderly, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable refugees and increase the problem of children being used by families to collect items,’ said a situation report of Inter Sector Coordination Group, a coordination body of the United Nations and other international agencies working in Cox’s Bazar.
‘Aid workers usually give preference to vulnerable people while carrying out any kind of assistance but it is really important for full-fledged targeted relief activities,’ said Cox’s Bazar refugee relief and repatriation commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam.
‘The speed and scale of the influx has resulted in a critical humanitarian emergency and we need some time to react for targeted relief assistance,’ he added.
According to the UN estimation till Monday, 6,24,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh since the beginning of the ongoing influx, what the United Nations has called the world’s fastest-developing refugee emergency, on August 25.
Officials estimated that the new influx already took to 10.43 lakh the number of documented and undocumented Myanmar nationals in Bangladesh entering the country fleeing persecution at times since 1978.
The new influx began after Myanmar security forces responded to Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s reported attacks on August 25 by launching violence what the United Nations denounced as ethnic cleansing.
Terrified, half-starved and exhausted, Rohingyas continued arriving in Bangladesh trekking through hills and forests and crossing rough sea and the Naf on boat and taking shelter wherever they could in Cox’s Bazar.
The latest update of family counting came out on November 23 said that 31 per cent of the 172,356 families counted so far were vulnerable –– 16.20 per cent single mother, 4.50 per cent serious medical condition, 4.15 per cent older person at risk, 3.96 per cent disable, 3.72 per cent with disabilities, 2.50 per cent older people with children and 0.87 per cent unaccompanied children. 
Single mothers are holding their families together with little support in harsh camp conditions, said people engaged in the counting process. 
Others are struggling with serious health problems or disabilities. There are also a high proportion of elderly people at risk, unaccompanied and separated children – some of them taking care of younger siblings, said people working in family counting.
Children made up 54 per cent of the Rohingyas while women 52 per cent said the latest update of family counting.
The coordination group’s situation report also said that Rohingyas were reliant on humanitarian assistance for food, and other life-saving needs. Basic services that were available prior to the influx are under severe strain due to the massive increase in people in the area. 
‘In some of the sites spontaneously emerged, water and sanitation facilities are limited or of poor quality, with extremely high density raising the risks of an outbreak of disease’ it said.
‘Communicable disease risks remain high due to crowded living conditions, inadequate water and sanitation facilities and low vaccination coverage. Mental and psychosocial health needs are immense. Many Rohingya refugees are reported to have been physically and mentally traumatised by the violence, including sexual and gender-based violence. Rates of severe acute malnutrition are running at 7.5 per cent, well over the emergency threshold,’ it read.
‘Local health care facilities and NGOs have limited capacity to treat children with SAM with complications,’ the situation report said.
‘Continuum of care for pregnant women, newborn and children needs to be ensured with periodic home visits from a network of community health volunteers,’ it said.
About 325,069 Rohingya people still need nutrition support, said the report. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net