Arakan News Agency
The United Nations on Monday called on international donors to provide urgent and substantial financial support to ensure Rohingya refugees and host communities in the Cox’s Bazar camps receive the vital assistance they desperately need amid a severe funding shortfall.
“The Joint Response Plan remains critically underfunded at less than 20% as we reach the mid-year point,” said Gwyn Lewis, the UN Resident Coordinator in the Cox’s Bazar camps.
She added that the Rohingya camps have suffered extensive damage due to heavy monsoon rains, which triggered landslides, floods, and serious destruction. A total of 53 landslides were reported across 33 camps, damaging over 1,400 shelters, killing one person after a wall collapsed, and injuring 12 others — including 11 struck by lightning.
Juliette Murekeyisoni, the Acting UNHCR Representative, stated that steep slopes, flooding, and makeshift shelters make for a dangerous combination in such a densely populated area, while strong winds further weaken the bamboo and tarpaulin shelters.
She noted that refugee volunteers are helping affected families relocate to safer areas or communal facilities, but stressed the urgent need for more space to construct additional shelters.
The UN warned that the ongoing monsoon season — expected to last through August — is intensifying risks, and emphasized the urgent need for emergency supplies such as tarpaulins, water purification equipment, and support from trained refugee volunteers in first aid and search and rescue.
Humanitarian needs for 2025 are estimated at $934 million to assist 1.48 million people — including both refugees and host communities. However, the severe funding gap is hampering the provision of safe shelters, essential supplies, and critical support in education and healthcare.
Coinciding with the funding crisis, UNICEF has warned that the education of over 230,000 Rohingya children in Bangladesh is under serious threat due to a deepening and chronic lack of funding. The agency was forced to lay off 1,200 teachers, prompting protests and demands for their reinstatement.
Since last Wednesday, heavy rains have struck the Rohingya camps, leading to the collapse of many fragile shelters and forcing residents to flee to safer areas. A young man died and a child was injured when a wall collapsed in a camp in Ukhiya, and 11 other refugees were injured by lightning strikes during a severe thunderstorm on Sunday evening in Cox’s Bazar.
