The Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) has called on the international community to come forward to assist the Rohingyas as it is working on finalizing a Joint Response Plan for funding in 2018.
The Joint Response Plan is likely to be operated from next month for ensuring better assistance and safer camp conditions.
The group, working in collaboration with Bangladesh government and international donors to provide assistance to Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar, issued a statement at a press briefing at a hotel in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday, six months into the crisis.
The ISCG lauded the role of the Bangladeshi people, local and international NGOs, and the United Nations for their humanitarian assistance.
In its joint response plan for funding needs for 2018, the group sought more assistance for Rohingya refugees: “… we look to the people of Bangladesh, local NGOs, international donors and the United Nations and international NGOs to continue their generous support to the government of Bangladesh in providing lifesaving responses and services to Rohingya refugees.”
ISCG said the people, government of Bangladesh and the humanitarian community deserve international support for their efforts. It urged the rest of the world to come forward to protect and assist the Rohingyas.
“Despite massive relief efforts, the Rohingya refugees are struggling to meet their basic needs. Overcrowded conditions foster health, sanitation and protection risks such as gender-based violence and human trafficking.”
The coordination group briefed journalists on the work it has done so far for the Rohingya refugees. The statement was read out by ISCG Senior Emergency Coordinator Sumbul Rizvi.
The Refugee, Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam displayed a presentation about the last six months’ activities, future challenges and plans.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh after a military crackdown began in the Rakhine State of Myanmar on August 25 last year. Since then, Bangladesh, along with the international community, has been providing humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas.
The RRRC commissioner, in his presentation, said that about 5,300 acres of land--from Ukhiya’s Kutupalong to Teknaf’s Shaalbon -- have already been used for the settlement of the refugees.
Source: Bangladesh government’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC)“Of the lands, 3,500 acres of land falls in the greater Kutupalong-Balukhali Mega site and about 1,800 acres have accommodated other 10 sites. Search for more land for decongestion and relocation to avert potential disaster borne risks is underway.”
The entire area is divided into 30 camps while the 23 camps already set-up with Camp-in-Charges (CICs) posted and clearly demarcated boundaries and the remaining seven camps are in the process of having planned set-up.
The Department of Immigration and Passports has already completed the biometric registration of 1,074,498 while RRRC-UNHCR listed 825,265 Rohingyas of 191,189 families under Family Counting Exercise program.
Kalam said: “Both exercises are still ongoing. An effort to construct family trees out of these data by linking two sources is in the process.”
“Besides, collation of DIP’s Bio-metric data with a view to cleaning overlaps and any other kinds of duplication is also ongoing. Completion of these processes will help firming up exact number of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMNs) with families.”
Mentioning the data of last six months’ activities in different sectors at the camps, the RRRC high official also said: “It is primarily estimated that about 200,000 people in the new camp sites are in grave danger from landslide and flood risks.”
Support for the host community
The RRRC high official also said that about 25 percent of the proposed JRP support of $950 million will be spent on host community development exclusively and a substantive share of employment opportunities with the UNOs, INGOs and NGOs has been allocated for the host community population.
He said UNHCR is providing Tk10,000 as compensation to social forestry partners of Shaalbon area and WFP will operate community support programme for 75 affected families in Teknaf.
Apart from this, a pilot for LPG-based cooking fuel intervention targeting 11,000 families will have 20 percent host community coverage, the RRR Commissioner Abul Kalam added.
