MSF staff looking out the Jamtoli refugee camp in Cox Bazar

Bangladesh

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are living in Bangladesh after fleeing targeted violence in Myanmar.

Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh has hosted Rohingya refugees fleeing targeted violence in neighbouring Myanmar's Rakhine state since 1978. The latest violence, which began in August 2017, has provoked an unprecedented exodus, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to live in camps with deteriorating conditions. Around 860,000 Rohingya refugees live over a surface of 26 square kilometres.

At present, we are providing medical care in two districts, Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar, while working to maintain our regular medical response. The current intervention in Cox’s Bazar started in 2009 when Kutupalong Field Hospital was established to serve both refugees and the local community.

In August 2017, we scaled up activities and now run nine health facilities across Cox’s Bazar district, including three hospitals, three primary health centres and two specialised clinics. 

Why are we here?

Our activities in 2022 in Bangladesh

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2022.

MSF IN BANGLADESH IN 2022 In Bangladesh, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) provides healthcare for Rohingya refugees who have fled persecution in Myanmar. In 2022, we also supported responses to flooding and outbreaks of diarrhoea.
MSF_Bangladesh_IAR_Map_2022

Across 10 facilities in Cox’s Bazar, our teams run a range of services to address some of the vast health needs of more than 920,000 Rohingya refugees living in camps, as well as a growing number of patients from the host community. Activities include general healthcare, treatment for chronic diseases, psychosocial support and women’s healthcare.

From March, we saw a rapid surge in patients with scabies that continued throughout the year, resulting in a significant increase in admissions to our facilities.

In April, we carried out a survey on water, hygiene and sanitation in the refugee camps, which showed that 88 per cent of inhabitants had no access to proper sanitation facilities, while 76 per cent of the available toilets were overflowing.

In Kamrangirchar district, in the capital, Dhaka, we collaborated with the Center for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh to conduct a feasibility study in two metal factories aimed at improving work safety and reducing injuries, focusing particularly on female and young workers.

In April, Dhaka hospitals started seeing an increase in cases of acute watery diarrhoea. In response, our teams donated supplies of saline solution and other medical materials to the Ministry of Health.

In July, MSF teams supported the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee’s response to a severe flash flood in Sylhet, in the northeast of the country. We distributed water, hygiene and sanitation kits to households and ran mobile clinics in boats, providing emergency medical care.

In addition, we continued to offer technical support to the Ministry of Health to raise awareness among health workers and the community of the dangers of methanol poisoning and contributed to the development of the National Mental Health Act, issued in 2022.

IN 2022

 
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Press Release 31 Jan 2024
 
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Crisis Update 11 Dec 2023
 
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Scabies outbreak in the Rohingya refugee camps

Press Release 7 Jun 2023
 
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“Lives in limbo”: a new challenge as Karsten Noko heads to Bangladesh

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Five years on, three generations of Rohingya talk about their past, present and future

Patient and Staff Stories 18 Aug 2022