UNICEF calls for efforts to safeguard Rohingya children during cyclone season

The UNICEF has cited fear that the forthcoming cyclone season is likely to engulf the fragile and insanitary camps where more than 720,000 Rohingya children are living in southern Bangladesh.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 23 Feb 2018, 07:51 AM
Updated : 23 Feb 2018, 07:51 AM

Urgent efforts are needed to help the refugees who are threatened either by the approaching cyclone season or by ongoing violence and denial of their basic rights in Myanmar, the UNICEF said in a report published on Friday.

The report, “Lives in Limbo: No End in Sight to the Threats Facing Rohingya Children” marks six months since the start of the latest exodus of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh.

The concerns are that floods may result in a waterborne disease outbreak and force clinics, learning centres and other facilities for children to close.

According to the report, an estimated 185,000 Rohingya children remain in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, fearful of the violence and horror that drove so many of their relatives and neighbours to flee.

In Bangladesh, there are estimated to be around 534,000 Rohingya refugee children from last year’s and previous influxes.

“Some 720,000 Rohingya children are essentially trapped – either hemmed in by violence and forced displacement inside Myanmar or stranded in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh because they can’t return home,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF director of emergency programmes.

“This is a crisis without a quick fix that could take years to resolve unless there is a concerted effort to address its root causes.”

Since August 2017, lack of access to many parts of Rakhine State has severely restricted the work of UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies.

UNICEF says that immediate and unimpeded access to all children in the state is imperative, as well as longer-term efforts to address intercommunal tension and promote social cohesion.

In Bangladesh, aid efforts led and overseen by the government have averted disaster, while 79,000 Rohingya have been accommodated by local communities.