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ISCG Situation Report: Cox’s Bazar Influx - 15 October 2017

Countries
Bangladesh
+ 1 more
Sources
ISCG
Publication date

Highlights

• 537,000 new arrivals are reported as of 14 October, according to IOM Needs and Population Monitoring, UNHCR and other field reports from Naikhongchhari (Bandarbhan district).

• Cross border movement of over 18,000 newly arrived refugees has been verified in the past week.

• Partners reported that more than 7,000 individuals have been moved from Naikhongchhari (Bandarban district) to Kutupalong expansion site by local authorities.

• The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR), supported by UNHCR, has started a family counting exercise. As of 15 October, 27,825 families were counted. Upon request from the RRRC, the exercise will be extended to include the entire Kutupalong and Balukhali sites. Separately Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has overseen the registration of 161,963 Rohingya refugees in the reporting period, this figure represents approximately 28% of the estimated population, eligible for registration. The registration centre is being relocated to the Kutupalong Extension Site. The mapping of community leadership structures in the Kutupalong extensions site continues.

• Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has repaired and completed six connecting roads in Kutupalong, Balukhali and Burmapara adjacent areas.

537,000 Cumulative arrivals since 25 Aug

212,000 Arrivals in Kutupalong Expansion Site

162,000 Arrivals in new spontaneous sites

89,000 Arrivals in host communities

Situation Overview

• Violence in Rakhine State which began on 25 August 2017 has driven an estimated 537,000 Rohingya across the border into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The speed and scale of the influx has resulted in a critical humanitarian emergency. The people who have arrived in Bangladesh since 25 August came with very few possessions. They have used the majority of their savings on transportation and constructing a shelter, often out of no more than bamboo and thin plastic. They are now reliant on humanitarian assistance for food, and other life-saving needs. Basic services that were available prior to the influx are under severe strain due to the massive increase in people in the area. In some of the sites that have spontaneously emerged, there is no access to water and sanitation facilities, raising the risks of an outbreak of disease. The Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar is highly vulnerable, having fled conflict and experienced severe trauma, and now living in extremely difficult conditions.

• Population movements within Cox’s Bazar remain highly fluid, with increasing concentration in Ukhia, where the Government has allocated 3,000 acres for a new camp. People have begun arriving at the new, proposed site before infrastructure and services can be established. Crucially there is limited access to the site and no roads through this site; this is preventing the development of infrastructure including water and sanitation facilities.
There is currently no reliable estimate of the number of people who have currently settled in the Kutupalong Extension Site.

• The Government has established a mechanism to receive donation from private individuals and organisations that are not registered to work in Cox’s Bazar. 12 distributions points have been established to try and curb ad hoc distributions along the roads, which have been creating serious safety and security risks.