Seven years after the Rohingya people were forced from their homes in Myanmar, close to 1 million remain stranded in the refugee camps of Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district – over half of them women and girls. With scarce means of making a living, many Rohingya refugees are entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Conditions in Cox’s Bazar remain very difficult and are exacerbated by climate shocks, such as the devastating Cyclone Mocha in May 2023. Most refugees live in overcrowded, temporary shelters that offer little privacy. Shrinking humanitarian funding, and an increase in security incidents in the camps, have left women and girls more exposed to violence. Basic services are stretched to their limits in the camp network.

UNFPA is supporting the Government of Bangladesh to provide reproductive health and gender-based violence services to women and girls in Cox’s Bazar and host communities. This includes deploying midwives and maternal and newborn specialists to health facilities, as well as supporting a network of community workers who raise awareness about available services at health centres, in communities, and at women and girls’ safe spaces. UNFPA is also supporting the Friendship Hospital, which is adjacent to the camps in Balukhali, Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, and is the only major facility providing comprehensive emergency obstetric care for both Rohingya refugees and host communities.

Updated on 21 May 2024