Saturday, November 11, 2017

The Rohingya crisis escalates

One in four Rohingya children who recently fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar is now suffering from life-threatening malnutrition, with aid workers warning that refugees are “essentially starving” before they have even crossed the border.

Severe acute malnutrition rates among child refugees under five have doubled since May, while nearly half of young children are also underweight and suffering from anaemia.

The figures – already above international emergency levels – are likely to increase, warned aid agencies. The risk of diarrhoea, dysentery, respiratory infections and measles – is also expected to increase. Severe acute malnutrition can affect anyone but, if left untreated, children under five are up to nine times more likely to die than a well-nourished child.

Malnutrition rates among children in northern Rakhine state were above emergency thresholds even before the recent exodus. But severe acute malnutrition has increased tenfold since last year, according to the joint assessment by Save the Children, IRC partner Action Against Hunger and Unicef. Conditions have worsened due to acute food and water shortages and unsanitary living quarters in Kutupalong camp, which is home to roughly 26,000 refugees.
“Malnutrition is rampant here, absolutely rampant, even among the adults,” said Save the Children’s Rik Goverde from Kutupalong camp. “Two men just came into the clinic weighing 32kg and 34kg. This hasn’t happened overnight – they have been hungry for a very long time and they are exhausted.”
“These shocking figures substantiate the IRC’s own findings on worrying food insecurity: three in four do not have enough food, and 95% of the population are drinking contaminated water. This is especially serious, as agencies report that two-thirds of the water in Cox’s Bazar is contaminated with faeces.” said Cat Mahony, emergency response director in Cox’s Bazar for the International Rescue Committee.

“There are problems here on every sector – this isn’t just about food and malnutrition,” said Goverde. “We’re sure there are children suffering from mental health issues because they’ve suffered terrible things, they’ve lost their parents in the chaos, or seen their parents being shot. It’s truly grim.”

In an open letter, many prominent signatories said, "We must not be bystanders to this genocide. We cannot allow people to be slaughtered and burnt out of their homes, while the world watches. After every atrocity, we say: “Never again.” We must mean it." 

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