Save the Children warns of acute famine in Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar

Situation in Cox's Bazar

The children's rights organization emphasizes that the situation is becoming increasingly difficult for families and especially for children. With regard to the Cox's Bazar district, the organization warns of a humanitarian crisis that could further worsen if international support is not significantly expanded. Other actors, such as UNHCR of the UN system, are also active in the region to ensure the supply of the refugees.

The warning comes at a time when funding for humanitarian programs for the Rohingya refugees as a whole is under pressure. Save the Children points out that food rations in the camps would have to be cut further without additional funds. The organization is calling on governments and donor countries to quickly increase their commitments in order to avert a famine.

Background of the Rohingya crisis

The background to the flight is the situation in Myanmar, where the Rohingya minority is demonstrably systematically persecuted. International courts have been dealing with the conflict for years; proceedings on the charge of genocide were heard, among others, before courts in The Hague. Despite these judicial steps, the situation of the people has not sustainably improved to date, which is why the majority continue to be dependent on life in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Save the Children aid workers are, according to their own information, deployed directly in the camps, distributing supplies and operating contact points for families. According to the statement, they are confronted with a growing number of malnourished children. The organization speaks of a situation that could get out of control without rapid action.

Demands on the international community

Bangladesh as the host country bears the main burden of supply. The government in Dhaka has repeatedly referred to the international community in order to distribute the costs of humanitarian aid more fairly. At the same time, living conditions in the camps have hardly sustainably improved since the massive influx beginning in 2017; infrastructure, healthcare, and education remain precarious.

Against this background, Save the Children demands that the hunger threat in the camps be treated as a global responsibility. The organization points to the fate of children whose growth and development are permanently impaired by chronic malnutrition. A failure to provide further assistance could exacerbate the consequences for an entire generation of refugees.