ince the end of August, 688,000 people from the Rohingya community, more than half of them being children, have had to flee brutal violence in Myanmar. They arrive to Bangladesh traumatized after a dangerous trip and they live in plastic houses and sticks, without access to water, health or any other basic service.
In addition, now is the time of cyclones and floods in Bangladesh and the geographical area where the Rohingya are located is particularly prone to this type of weather, which can leave them without food or water to drink and cause diseases such as cholera.
In UNICEF they work to provide them with shelter, food, clean water, sanitation and medical care.
Rohingya children: an uncertain future
- Hungry and tired: children and their families arrive to Bangladesh in a state of critical physical and emotional health. They are tired and only some carry small sacks with the few possessions they have been able to save.
- Diseases: hygienic conditions are precarious and there is no health care. The risk of cholera and measles outbreaks are the biggest threats.
- Typhoons: heavy rains expected by the arrival of the typhoon season may flood refugee camps, which would increase the risk of contracting diseases and force the closure of clinics and learning centers.
- Malnutrition: more than half a million people need nutritional care, and it is estimated that more than 25% of Rohingya children living in refugee camps are malnourished.
- Interrupted education: if the situation does not improve, children will spend most of their years in temporary camps. 453,000 Rohingya children between the ages of 4 and 18 need to receive education.
- Unprotected from violence: children, adolescents and women face high levels of physical and sexual violence, child labor, child marriage and other forms of abuse and exploitation. Thousands of children have arrived alone and are exposed to violence, abuse and mistreatment.
