- UNICEF will distribute 250,000 鈥淕PS-enabled bracelets鈥� so that unaccompanied children can be located and identified instantly.
- UNICEF has appealed for a $10 million fund to provide emergency health care and other assistance to the Rohingya refugees during the monsoons.
DHAKA: More than 100,000 Rohingya refugees face life-threatening risks from floods and landslides as the monsoon season approaches, UNICEF has warned.
The refugees are housed in camps at Cox鈥檚 Bazar, on Bangladesh鈥檚 southeast coast, and include 55,000 children, the UN agency鈥檚 spokesperson, Christophe Boulierac, said on Tuesday.
Bangladesh last month relocated 15,000 Rohingyas who were most vulnerable to flood and landslide to a new 800-acre site.
鈥淲e are working very hard to relocate more refugees before the monsoon starts,鈥� Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam told Arab News.
鈥淲e are trying to relocate as many as possible during May and June,鈥� said Kalam. 鈥淲e are taking the UN alerts seriously.鈥�
UNICEF has appealed for a $10 million fund to provide emergency health care and other assistance to the Rohingya refugees during the monsoons. The agency has been able to muster only $5.9 million so far.
鈥淪ince we are talking about the lives of children, I believe the donors will be generous with their pledges and we鈥檒l get the fund shortly.鈥�
The monsoon rains leave children at risk of being cut off from lifesaving medical services.
UNICEF will distribute 250,000 鈥淕PS-enabled bracelets鈥� so that unaccompanied children can be located and identified instantly.
The UN agency, the World Health Organization and the Bangladesh government have started a vaccination program among refugees in preparation for the monsoons, which increase the risk of illness.
About 1,000 local staff will work on the program, Foijullah said.
UNICEF is also building five extra treatment centers in the refugee camps. All the centers will be operating by the end of May.
A recent mapping of 7,727 tube wells 鈥� the camps鈥� major water source 鈥� showed that almost half were at risk of being affected by floods and landslides.
The agency is planning emergency water and sanitation supplies and will boost its stocks of hygiene kits, as well as building latrines.