Oxfam is providing clean water, sanitation and tarpaulins for emergency shelter to Rohingya people who have fled to Bangladesh.
Nearly 370,000 people crossed into Bangladesh in the past four weeks, doubling the number of people seeking refuge in the south east of the country.
The existing camps in Bangladesh are ill-equipped to handle the huge numbers of people.
Oxfam in Bangladesh interim country director M B Akhter said Oxfam initially planned to help 200,000 people, with many urgently in need emergency shelter, clean water, toilets and food.
Women, children, older people and those with disabilities were especially vulnerable, he said.
“People face a desperate situation. They have no clean drinking water and no food. They are homeless and hungry following a long and treacherous journey across the border. Many are now sleeping under open skies, by roadsides and in forests, with no protection,” Akhter said.
“People are physically and emotionally traumatised.”
Donations can be made to support Oxfam’s emergency responses online
For interviews or more information, contact Renee Thompson on 0418 873 782 or reneet@oxfam.org.au
Contacts
Nipuna Kumbalathara, nipuna.kumbalathara@oxfam.org, +94 (0) 71 4873333;
AJM Zobaidur Rahman; ajrahman@oxfam.org.uk; +88 01755 621 780
Notes to editors
Bangladesh has hosted 400,000 Rohingyas since the 1990s. The continuing influx has doubled the number of refugees in the South-Eastern Districts of Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.
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