A total of 16,000 Rohingya refugees out of 0.12 million who are at risk of landslide or flood have been relocated to safer places, says a report of the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) on Sunday.
ISCG, a platform of the development agencies who are engaged in providing humanitarian services for Rohingya refugees, said they have shifted 4,134 people last week and arrangements were completed for shifting 3,667 more people in the same period.
'Over 5oo acres of land, allocated by the government of Bangladesh in March, are being prepared for relocation of more people at risk of landslide or flood. Still, the lack of sufficient safe space for at-risk refugees, and the lack of cyclone-safe shelter, limits the possibilities for risk mitigation' the report said.
Around a million Rohingya refugees are currently living under tarpaulins in Cox's Bazar district, on steep, sandy slopes denuded of vegetation.
At least 120,000 people have been identified as being at the high risk of flood and landslide triggered by heavy rain.
Of them, 25,000 have been identified as at the highest risk of landslide.
According to the report, shelter upgrades continue in the camps and settlements, with 141,233 households (78 per cent) supported to date to strengthen their existing shelters-though not to the level of being cyclone-safe.
Community facilities inside the camps and settlements that are in relatively safe locations are also being strengthened.
The Bangladesh government has completed 13.5 km of the Army Road in Kutupalong, and extended an electricity cable 9 km inside the camp. The RRRC deployed additional camp-in-charge officials (CiC) to manage camps, bringing the total CiCs to 26.
Dredging of main waterways is ongoing to manage monsoon water flow both in and outside the camps and settlements, with 10km out of 30 km target completed.
Ten kilometres of canal, running south-west of the Kutupalong-Balukhali Expansion Site to the Naf River, is being dredged to help mitigate impact outside the refugee camp.
Larger scale works will be required post-monsoon, ISCG mentioned.
An oral vaccination campaign for Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD), for both refugees and host communities, was conducted from 6th May to 13th May. Last week, 1,090 new cases of severe acute malnutrition were identified in children under 5, who were admitted to in- and outpatient programmes for therapeutic treatment bringing the total number of cases to 7,609.
On the other hand, World Health Organisation in its report on the health situation of the refugees said, from November 8, 2017, a total of 6,860 suspected cases of diphtheria have been reported and cases continue to be reported amongst children aged 5-14 years till last week.
"Over 100 partners are operating 270 health facilities of different types. Approximately, 900 hospital beds are available to the people in need, of which 290 are in government run facilities. The health sector is working with the government and continuously monitors what services are available and where to ensure population coverage. Lack of resources means that sustaining health services meeting minimum standards remains a significant challenge' the report said.
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