Federation – Wide Internal Situation Update No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Federation – Wide Internal Situation Update No. 44 POPULATION MOVEMENT OPERATION Reporting Period: 1 to 31 January 2019 PSS support for children through fun activities in camp 13. Source: BDRCS Key Highlights • Since 1 January 2019, BDRCS started managing the field hospital. The hospital is renamed as ‘Bangladesh Red Crescent society Hospital’ and run by Bangladeshi qualified nurses and doctors with 10 bed facilities. Until 31 March 2019, it will be running as transitional hospital. Eye, Dental and surgical section, obstetrics and gynae have been planned to start from 1 April 2019. At present, one Hospital Manager, six doctors, 12 Nurses, one Admin & Finance officer, one Pharmacist, one NDRT member, one Electrical Engineer, two Lab Technicians, one X-Ray Technicians, six Porters, eight Cleaners, four Tech team members, six Cooks and one laundry man are working for the hospital. • German Red Cross is in process of identifying land for 500 midterm shelters in camp 19, 20 and 20 Ext. and defining the design of midterm shelters. • Since November 2018, BDRCS with support from IFRC provided LPG tanks and refilling to 873 households in camp 11-A. • The 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) has been launched in January on behalf of Strategic Executive Group and partners active in Cox’s Bazar. The plan shows a collective requirement of USD 920.5 million to maintain priority responses to approximately 1.2 million people in the camp and host communities. Food security is the area that requires most support, which is followed by WASH, shelter, site management and health areas. The plan emphasises on key cross cutting issues to focus within and between sectors which are protection and gender mainstreaming, environment and eco-system rehabilitation, social cohesion, and natural disaster preparedness. Partners who have contributed to the IFRC Emergency Appeal are: American Red Cross, Australian Red Cross, Austrian Red Cross, Bahrain Red Crescent, Belgian Red Cross, British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, Red Cross Society of China Macau branch, Danish Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross, German Red Cross, Hong Kong branch of the Red Cross Society of China, the Iranian Red Crescent, Italian Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross Society, Luxembourg Red Cross, Maldivian Red Crescent, Netherlands Red Cross, New Zealand Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross, Red Cross of Monaco, Republic of Korea National Red Cross, Singapore Red Cross, Spanish Red Cross, Swedish Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross, Taiwan Red Cross Organization and Turkish Red Crescent. The German Red Cross, Italian Red Cross, the Iranian Red Crescent, Kuwait Red Crescent, Swiss Red Cross, Qatar Red Crescent and the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent contributed to the BDRCS activities through bilateral channels. Situation Overview As of January 2019, more than 900,000 people from Rakhine State live in 34 extremely congested camps, located in Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-district of Cox’s Bazar district. Approximately 626,500 people stay only in Kutupalong-Balukhali expansion. Since January 2018, there are more than 16,000 new arrivals. On Jan 8, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, stated that the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) will continue to address the crisis whilst also expressing his “hope that the Rohingya repatriation process, based on the agreed list of verified Rohingyas, will begin soon” – no further timeframe was given. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar visited Bangladesh and, in her statement, she commended the efforts of the Government of Bangladesh to develop the island but stressed that “no relocation should even be contemplated until a framework to protect any refugees who do relocate is agreed upon”. She further stated the need to fully involve the displaced in the decision to relocate in the form of ‘go and see’ visits emphasizing that there must be voluntary, informed consent, freedom of movement and called on the GoB to release “feasibility studies it has undertaken and to allow the UN to carry out a full technical and humanitarian assessment, including a security assessment, before making any further plans for the housing of people on the island.” The GoB has stated that relocation of people from Rakhine to Bhasan Char is a priority, with the State Minister for Disaster and Relief Management stating that the relocation of 23,000 families would be completed by April 15, 2019. There has been a reported increase in attacks against the female population working and living in the camps. It concerns women from the displaced community in general and female volunteers and NGO staff. Men have also been targeted where they have been seen to support women accessing work and educational opportunities. The BDRCS and Red Cross partners have been impacted, in certain camps female volunteers are not going to work and there have been reported incidents of harassment. IFRC and BDRCS are working with the sector to report incidents and take appropriate actions to ensure the safety of our volunteers/staff and the continuation of our operations. The Government of Bangladesh has been engaged as this is an issue of respect for humanitarian workers and principles. The GoB is ultimately responsible for the overall safety and security in the camps. The host community in Cox’s Bazar has been holding a series of protests and demonstrations over employment practices of NGOs which started peaceful but have turned increasingly hostile. On Jan 14 and 17, peaceful protests were held on the loss of jobs as some local NGO staff were released from their contracts at the end of last year (because projects have ended or are being transferred to national actors). Furthermore, several hundred people have lost their jobs mainly in the health sector due to the rationalization of services. The current situation remains severe as the displaced population continue to face threats. They live in congested sites that impact all aspects of living and are ill-equipped to handle the monsoon rains and upcoming cyclone season– with alarmingly limited options for evacuation. Needs and Operational Environment Overarching Considerations Current needs: • Access to quality protection and assistance is vital, particularly for adolescent girls and women including psychosocial support for all people affected. One of the most pressing issues that needs to be addressed is incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) and abuse taking place in the camp population. GBV prevention mechanisms need to be strengthened, including GBV case management, counter-trafficking programming and psychosocial support for children and adults. Community-based protection interventions and efforts to ensure safety and security in the camps, including basic requirements such as lighting, presence of law enforcement authorities and access to justice, require continuous strengthening by all actors. • The protection sector working group in Cox’s Bazar, which RCRC is part of, set strategy to address women security is to focus on constructive engagement with authorities, expand community-based engagement with men, boys, religious leaders, and opinion makers alongside ongoing community and women empowerment initiatives and evidence-based protection analysis and timely interventions 2 • For unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), there is an urgent need for robust, family-based alternative care arrangement. • In 2019, disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness will build on both achievements and lessons learned during the cyclone and monsoon seasons of 2018. Across sectors, improved quality of facilities is needed to enhance weather resilience and sustainability. • The number of people from Rakhine State has almost tripled the total population in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas, with sizable consequences for the environment and livelihoods of Bangladeshi residents — as well as significant new development opportunities that have yet to be maximized. The influx of one million people has significant impact on fragile forest and land resources. So, there is a need to continue addressing concerns of the local population under the leadership of the Government and the local authorities. • A recent survey conducted by IOM and the UNHCR collected feedback from 12,373 people regarding WASH in camps 8W, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24 and summarized the following six major concerns and needs: - Insufficient number of tube wells, toilets, washrooms, drains, and dustbins. - Women, children and older people are particularly struggling with washrooms and toilet access due to distance, privacy, and safety concerns. - Most of the toilets, drains and dustbins need better maintenance and regular cleaning. - Collecting water from shallow tube wells is very difficult during the winter with lower water levels. - Community members are suffering from various water – and air-borne diseases and skin diseases because of a lack of access to WASH facilities. - Women face issues with disposing of menstrual hygiene products and lack of adequate facilities. Operational Challenges and mitigation Sector specific challenges: Amongst the many challenges within the operation, the following have been identified in the last month: • Shelter: Local political leaders in host communities in Palongkhali Union (Ward no. 5 and 6) attempted to influence the selection of vulnerable households that need shelter improvement and it led to confusion among the community people regarding the process. Dialogue with public representatives (Ward commissioners) and government executive