Bangladesh
Help Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities.
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, home to more than 170 million people. Since gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has made great strides to reduce poverty, achieve sustainable economic growth, and continue human development. However, the country still faces many challenges.
Nearly one in five people (34 million) live below the poverty line. Most of Bangladesh sits just 10 meters above sea level, making the country extremely vulnerable to the climate crisis. Storm surges and flooding caused by extreme weather regularly affect large areas of Bangladesh.
In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees fled violence in neighboring Myanmar and sought shelter in Bangladesh, joining several hundred thousand Rohingya who had previously fled persecution in Myanmar. The United Nations estimates that there are more than 900,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in Bangladesh. More than half are children.
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority from Rakhine State, western Myanmar. Rohingya people in Myanmar are denied citizenship, basic rights, and protections. As the world’s largest stateless population, they are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Rohingya communities in Myanmar have experienced decades of persecution. Since the 1990s, more than one million Rohingya have fled Myanmar. In August 2017, a massive outbreak of violence forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh.
Rohingya refugees are sheltering in 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar District, Chattogram (Chittagong) Division in southeastern Bangladesh, and on Bhasan Char Island in the Bay of Bengal. Kutupalong Refugee Camp, a conglomeration of 23 camps in Cox’s Bazar District, considered to be the world’s largest refugee camp, houses nearly 800,000 Rohingya refugees.
With few opportunities for employment or schooling, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are almost wholly dependent on aid for survival.
Rohingya refugees are experiencing poor and worsening living conditions. The camps are cramped and crowded, with population density exceeding 50,000 people per square kilometer in some areas (more than five times that of New York City). Crime and violence are rising, with women and children especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Bangladesh is not a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention and has no national legislation that specifically governs refugee affairs. Consequently, Rohingya refugees have few formal rights or protections in Bangladesh.
Rohingya refugees need support for essential health care, food security and nutrition, shelter and non-food items, safe water, sanitation, hygiene, protection, education, livelihoods and skills development.
With Rohingya refugees comprising one-third of the total population of Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh host communities also need development support to promote well-being and peaceful coexistence. This support includes livelihoods, safe water, hygiene and sanitation, and cleaner and sustainable energy.
Your gift to Community Partners International empowers Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities to meet their essential health, humanitarian and sustainable development needs.
You help Rohingya refugees access health care and safe water, sanitation and hygiene. You help protect them from fires, floods and cyclones. And you help Bangladeshi communities build livelihoods and renewable energy sources, access safe water, and strengthen their resilience to climate change.
We help Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities build and strengthen essential health services to achieve health for all.
We help Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities sustainably improve their quality of life on their own terms.
We help Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities prepare for and respond to humanitarian emergencies.
We conduct research in partnership with Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh communities to inform and guide solutions to their development challenges.
Fatema, a Rohingya refugee in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, hadn’t felt well for some time. She wasn’t sure what was wrong but found it increasingly difficult to cope.
When Reshmatur, a health worker supported by Community Partners International, visited Fatema, she helped her get her health back on track.
Join Musa Ali and his team as they ensure the toilets in his neighborhood of Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, are safe, functional, and hygienic. Supported by Community Partners International, Rohingya community workers like Musa Ali provide the essential first line of services to fellow refugees from Myanmar sheltering in Bangladesh.
When Sajida, a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, became pregnant, she turned to the health post supported by Community Partners International for help. Find out how the health post helps Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi communities access essential health care.
For the rural community of Doria Nagar, Bangladesh, a new biogas plant, built with support from Community Partners International, uses kitchen and toilet waste to produce free cooking gas. This helps them save money, protect their children’s health, and reduce deforestation.
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