CAFOD partners rush aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
More than 340,000 people are now estimated to have fled to Bangladesh, escaping violence in Rakhine State in neighbouring Myanmar, and the numbers are growing daily. CAFOD partner, Caritas Bangladesh, is responding to the refugee crisis by providing emergency aid.
Earlier this month, aid workers from Caritas Bangladesh’s regional office, Caritas Chittagong, visited Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazila in the Cox’s Bazar district. They reported back about the worrying situation faced by thousands of Rohingya refugees.
Many refugees are sleeping in the open air and in desperate need of food and water. Others are in makeshift refugee camps along the side of the road, or wherever they can find space. Food, clean water and sanitation, and medical and health services are urgently needed.
Tom Delamere, CAFOD’s Programme Officer for Bangladesh, said: “Reports we have received from the UN and from our partner, Caritas Bangladesh, show the desperate need faced by thousands of people. Those that have made it into Bangladesh are living in extremely poor conditions – they are hungry, weak and sick.”
In coordination with the Bangladeshi Government and other Caritas aid agencies, Caritas Bangladesh hopes to reach more than 14,000 vulnerable families with emergency aid.
To donate to CAFOD's Emergency Response Team see: https://cafod.org.uk/Give/Donate-to-Emergencies