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There are currently 855,000 Rohingya Refugees living in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh who are in need of humanitarian aid. The Rohingya refugee settlement is the most crowded refugee camp with 40,000 people per square kilometer. Shelters consist of five or more family members who share one room around 10 by 16 feet. Up to 20 people share one outdoor latrine and there are constant lineups for water in order to cook, clean, and bathe. Under these conditions, disease outbreaks are common, with children often suffering from diarrhea, respiratory infections, and lice. Malnutrition and harsh weather conditions only further exacerbate disease outbreaks and worsen symptoms. With the outbreak of COVID-19, Rohingya refugees are at a severe disposition as the requirements for good hygiene, as well as social distancing to prevent further spread, are near impossible to achieve within the extremely crowded and unsanitary living conditions of the camps.
The difficulty of assessing the full impacts of COVID-19 on the camps stems from the lack of access to technology and other communication services. Not only is it difficult for refugees to share the full extent of hardships they currently face living in the camps, but they also cannot receive critical information about the Coronavirus spread. Due to misinformation and the rising stigmatization of the virus, there is a fear of getting tested. Rumours are being spread throughout the camps that anyone who has COVID-19 may be killed in order to prevent further spread of the virus. The structural mistreatment, cultural stigmatization and forced evacuations have spurred feelings of distrust towards the government. There are rumours amongst refugees that if they seek help or reveal their symptoms, government officials will kill them.
The Bangladesh government alongside other international organizations and NGOs has taken some initiatives to spread correct information about the virus and promote hygiene in the camps. A program was offered to train religious leaders, community leaders and other volunteers to spread information in the camps about the Coronavirus. This may have a positive impact as Focus Group Discussions (FGD) conducted in the camps by IOM Communicating with Communities (CwC) team found that rumours were being spread through Mosques, Imams and religious officials. Ensuring that correct information is being communicated to refugees may play an important role in ensuring that people feel comfortable to be transparent with others about their symptoms, and getting tested which will, in turn, provide more accurate information on how much coronavirus is spreading throughout the refugee camp.
However, testing is equally limited as triage is prioritizing those with travel history. The government of Bangladesh has reportedly given refugees permission to access the Cox’s Bazar district’s hospital resources, but because of Rohingya Refugees’ citizenship status as well as movement restrictions placed on them by the Bangladesh government, they do not fall under any triage categories. The UN has reportedly upgraded 35 primary care facilities triage areas, as well as three other isolation and treatment centers in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. They are currently developing a quarantine center with 465 person capacity and 250 intensive care beds. However, it was reported that there is only one intensive care unit with 18 beds, at the Cox's Bazar District hospital. These care facilities serve all of the people in the Cox's Bazar District. It remains in the question of how many Rohingya refugees have been able to access these resources.
In addition to insufficient resources and misinformation, refugees must also physically access hospitals that are located far away from them. Without any method of transportation, they must walk long distances in harsh weather and difficult hilly terrain. Those who have mobility challenges from physical disability, age, or illness are forced to face the steep and uneven pathways in order to access resources that may not even be provided to them. As weather conditions worsen again around the monsoon and cyclone seasons of April and May refugees will face an increased risk of COVID-19 infection. The UN estimates around $120 million will be needed in order to adequately provide humanitarian relief for Rohingya refugees. There are four quarantine centers that have been planned to be built, as well as four isolation and treatment centers which would provide up to 1,900 beds for Rohingya refugees suffering from COVID-19. It remains to be seen what the progress on these is as well. The lives of Rohingya refugees have been put in immense danger with COVID-19. However, even in the case that vaccines become widespread and disseminated to the refugee settlement, many other issues still remain that will continue to put their lives at risk.
Chloe Kapanen, January 2021
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