Save the Children International Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Helle Thorning-Schmidt has said the Rohingya crisis led to an emergency situation for the children who have entered Bangladesh fleeing the violence in Myanmar.
She made the statement while briefing the media on Saturday about her visit to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.
She said: “There are a lot of child protection concerns in the camps. Desperate, hungry children are running around alone and anything could happen to them in this chaotic situation.”
Save the Children CEO also said the overcrowding, lack of schooling and widespread desperation among the Rohingya living in the makeshift settlements are putting the children at an alarming risk of exploitation and abuse.
“It’s a child protection disaster waiting to happen. This kind of situations leaves children at the risk trafficking, sexual abuse and child labour,” she said mentioning the Rohingya issues as a man-made crisis.
Emphasising on the access to education for refugee children, Thorning-Schmidt said: “One of the best ways we can protect children in this situation is to get them into classrooms. A safe space where they can learn and benefit from things like psychosocial support and hygiene promotion.
“In a crisis like this, education is incredibly important for children.”
Also Read- Amid the exodus, lone Rohingya children face dangers in camps
According to a report of International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Needs and Population Monitoring (NPM), non-formal education facility can be accessed within a distance of 30 minutes from 56% sites of the makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar while maktab or madrasa education can be accessed from 61% of the sites within the same time.
However, the report said 53% of sites have barriers for adolescent boys to access education and 66% for adolescent girls.
Thorning-Schmidt also expressed grave concern about the number of separated and unaccompanied Rohingya children in Bangladesh.
Mark Pierce, Country Director of Save the Children in Bangladesh, said by next year the international organisation will provide support of $90m to address Rohingya crisis, especially to protect and improve the lives of Rohingya children.
He also emphasised on the need of more support to fight health risk like pneumonia during the winter.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 588,800 Rohingya have entered Bangladesh since the violence erupted in Myanmar on August 25.
Of them at least 300,000 are children which comprises of 60% of the refugees. The United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, has so far identified 1,312 unaccompanied or separated Rohingya children among the latest arrivals in Bangladesh.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
