Since 2017, over 1,000,000 refugees fled to Bangladesh from the Rakhine region of Myanmar, where the Rohingya Muslim minority are being persecuted.
Ed Lewis, Programme Manager at Jersey Overseas Aid, told Express that the refugees settle in makeshift camps, where their basic needs are not met.
He explained: “Reports from Bangladesh indicate that most of those arriving are women and children, including new-born babies and pregnant women. Families have limited or no access to food, shelter, healthcare, basic necessities and safe drinking water. The situation is compounded by poor weather and recent flooding which increases the risk of outbreaks of waterborne disease, such as cholera.
The appeals that JOA funds provide food, clean water, shelter and medical care to help those affected.”
Easy to forget there’s humans at the centre of a humanitarian crisis. This little one spent hours playing in filthy garbage with a piece of scrap plastic, happily singing. Hundreds of thousands of kids are missing out on their childhood in #CoxsBazar camps. They deserve better. pic.twitter.com/9LjHEQPOVB
— Vicci Moyles (@VicciMoyles) August 1, 2018
Of all the money contributed by Jersey Overseas Aid to efforts in Bangladesh, £221,000 was donated to the British Red Cross.
Those funds were used to provide toilets, sanitation, water and hygiene promotion to the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar and on the other side of the border in Myanmar.
Mr Adamson said that access to these facilities “makes all the difference.”
Video: CEO of the British Red Cross, Mike Adamson, explains how Jersey Overseas Aid has helped.
In a video, he expressed gratitude for the work of Jersey Overseas Aid, saying: “I just want to say a huge thank you for all that you have made possible in responding to the crisis in Bangladesh.”
Lead photo: A Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. (Simon Murphy/SCIAF/PA)