Despite limitations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, UNHCR, with the Government and other partners, saw significant achievements in 2021.
The living conditions of Rohingya refugees improved with the provision of basic assistance, such as shelter repair; health; nutrition; core relief items; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and energy support. Disaster risk mitigation and preparedness measures were also implemented, including the prepositioning of staff and resources such as core relief items and shelter equipment that could be rapidly deployed in an emergency, with refugees and their communities playing a key role in the response.
Pre-monsoon kits, composed of shelter reinforcement materials such as ropes, wires and iron bars were provided to 87,317 households in anticipation of natural disasters. Primary healthcare services were provided through 29 healthcare facilities and 56,671 children aged 6-59 months were screened on a monthly basis for malnutrition by community nutrition volunteers using the mid-upper arm circumference concept.
As part of UNHCR’s WASH programme, 65,153 handwashing ‘tippy taps’ (a cost-effective mobile handwashing device) were installed in the refugee camps for households. In addition, 265 handwashing devices at latrine blocks and 34 handwashing devices in public places were set up, while 223,684 female hygiene kits, which include sanitary products, were distributed benefiting 111,842 women in UNHCR WASH-managed camps. Moreover, 89,461 refugees and 13,952 host community members were supported with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for the entire year, mitigating deforestation and environmental degradation while also improving refugees’ food security, nutrition and health. To improve access to education, 65,985 learners aged 3-24 years benefitted from a home-based, caregiver-led education programme, which covered 53% of the UNHCR-managed camps.
During the period when humanitarian access was restricted as a result of COVID-19-related measures, protection actors devised remote working modalities, including remote case management, counselling and training, and home-based learning support for children. In December 2021, the majority of protection services had resumed and the use of the Myanmar curriculum for grades six to nine was approved and a pilot for 10,000 children initiated.
The Community Groups Programme ran activities in 31 camps with 144 community groups comprising more than 3,900 volunteers. Community groups for adult and young men and women collectively identified and prioritized the needs of their community and designed and implemented 2,854 community projects. Community outreach members conducted 143,364 information sessions, reaching 356,208 refugees with health, hygiene, and COVID-19 prevention and response measures. UNHCR expanded community networks comprising 960 imams and 375 female religious teachers and provided them with the capacity, knowledge and skills to promote community-based solutions. Imams and female religious teachers conducted 49,222 COVID-19 awareness-raising sessions for 899,222 people.
UNHCR’s legal assistance services continued throughout the 34 camps (33 camps at the end of December) and expanded to Bhasan Char in November 2021. Legal aid services included legal counselling, legal assistance including legal representation, mediation support as well as legal awareness-raising. UNHCR and legal partners also engaged with police and camp administration officials to reinforce refugees’ access to the national justice system.
The Office continued operating two COVID-19 severe acute respiratory illness isolation and treatment Centres for refugees and the host community. It also provided support to the Sadar District Hospital in Cox’s Bazar. In 2021, 4,535 patients (of whom 1,999, 44%, were refugees) received treatment at these facilities.
Support for the host community increased through the provision of emergency COVID-19 cash assistance to 15,038 families and nine solidarity projects where refugee volunteers work with the communities to identify the needs, design and implement the project, such as supporting the services at learning centres or improvement of camp infrastructures or providing literacy classes for adults or handicraft skills for women.
Cash assistance was also given to 16,887 individuals through the Government-supported Social Safety Net Project.
As of 31 December 2021, UNHCR in Dhaka had registered 68 urban refugees (following refugee determination status under its mandate) and 47 asylum seekers from Myanmar who were not Rohingya, Somalia, Afghanistan and other countries. During the year, 34 individuals were registered, of which 14 were women and 2 0 were men. UNHCR monitored their situation remotely, particularly the impact of COVID-19 on their health and social condition. Another 17 people received limited cash assistance. All refugees and asylum seekers received UNHCR documentation, which provided a degree of protection.