About the Crisis

More than half a million Rohingya refugees have fled from violence over the past three months in search of safety in Bangladesh. The violence began in Rakhine State, Myanmar, at the end of August and saw many thousands of people cross the border into Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.

The speed and scale of the refugee influx has resulted in a critical humanitarian emergency. Refugees arrived in huge numbers carrying few or no possessions – having used most of their savings to fund their journeys. The majority of these refugees live in makeshift settlements in shelters consisting of little more than bamboo and thin plastic.

The Rohingya refugee population is in acute need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Some 500,000 people are highly vulnerable, having escaped violence and experienced severe trauma on their journeys to Bangladesh. There they are forced to live in extremely harsh conditions.

The Dutch Relief Alliance Response

The key objective of the Rohingya Joint Response is to provide life-saving basic assistance inside settlements, camps and also within host communities. These efforts will help safeguard the protection, dignity and safety of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Project activities will be focused within the sectors of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Shelter / Non-Food Items and providing protection. These sectors are the ones where needs are most urgent and critical – and where DRA member organisations can make the greatest impact.

The DRA Rohingya Joint Response in Bangladesh has been designed to allow participating NGOs to quickly assess and respond to changing circumstances whenever necessary.