Bangladesh

Health: In 2021, Rohingyas expressed that the main barrier to accessing health services is overcrowding of facilities. Other factors for the reluctance of the Rohingya communities to seek healthcare were the perception of not getting the required service or medicine, mistreatment from health workers, and a general mistrust of health clinics. These changes led to more households incurring extra costs as they sought treatment in private clinics and bought medicine from pharmacies or other sources.? 

Food security: Food prices have been continuously on the rise in the markets and rations distributed in the camps have become smaller and less varied. Many Rohingya continue to be unable to afford food items such as meat, fresh fruit, and fish. Others sell oil, sugar, and lentils to buy products for a more varied diet,? but with the limited food assistance, this possibility is likely decreasing.

Access to livelihoods and employment: The income-generating activities decreased and with that the Rohingya refugees’ ability to meet their daily needs. Humanitarian-led income-generating activities, including the possibility of Rohingya volunteering with NGOs and cash-for-work programs, as well as the movement of Rohingya out of the camps and seeking employment opportunities, are limited.?

Protection: The reduction in both income and the presence of humanitarian actors in the camps has reportedly led to a spike in criminal activity and concerns over safety. Criminal activities, drug dealings, and theft cases have risen and there is a feeling of insecurity amongst camp residents.?

Education: After COVID-19-related school closures had been lifted, access to education has improved but remains difficult because of the perceived lack of quality of education for Rohingya children provided in learning centers.? A pilot of the Myanmar curriculum is currently being implemented in the camps. According to UNICEF, the curriculum had reached 10,000 children by May 2022.?

WASH: WASH needs in the camps remain high. Challenges persist such as in the access to sufficient water, the provision of toilet facilities, or for women in obtaining adequate menstrual hygiene items.?

The Government of Bangladesh plans to relocate up to 100,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char Island. According to Bangladeshi authorities, the relocation is necessary because of overcrowding, tensions between refugees and host communities, and gang-related violence in the Cox’s Bazar camps.?

In May 2020, the first 300 Rohingya refugees were relocated to the island. After several phases of relocation since, about 27,000 Rohingya are now living on the island, 80% of them women and children.?

Data collection in humanitarian response is based on established standards, guidelines, and good practices that have evolved over time. While these practices give a general structure for data collection processes, they need to be adaptable to any specific response context. This learning document highlights the lessons learnt from five years of data collection in the Rohingya camps in the form of assessments, monitoring, and evaluation activities whether rapid or comprehensive, sectoral or multisectoral, joint or standalone, and other types of studies. This document aims to help adapt data collection processes to the Rohingya response in Cox’s Bazar based on collated experiences and learning. The methods used to collect data include surveys, group discussions (GDs) including focus group discussions, interviews including key informant interviews (KIIs), and direct observations. The terms ‘data collectors’ and ‘participants’ or ‘respondents’ are used for the main stakeholders involved in data collection exercises.

Read full report here.