Rohingya Crisis – Health issues

The Rohingya people are a stateless Muslim-minority group that has been persecuted by Myanmar for many years.1 Recently the Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state after insurgents attacked security forces in late August last year, prompting a military crackdown that has since been described as ethnic cleansing.2 According to a recent report of International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF, an estimated 688,000 Rohingya have entered into Bangladesh from Myanmar since 25 August 2017, and the total Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar is now over 900,000.3 The majority of these people are now living in pre-existing camps and settlements, settlement extensions, spontaneous settlements and amongst the host community in Cox’s Bazar District with increasing need of humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food, clean water, and sanitation.3,4 Around 1.2 million people, including both newly arrived Rohingyas and their host communities, are estimated to be in need of health assistance. Based on the public health situation analysis published on 10 October 2017, WHO has graded this crisis as a level 3 emergency, the highest possible rating.5