The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on February 22 that the approaching rainy season would pose a “huge risk” to Rohingya refugees who fled across the Myanmar border to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
The WHO said that rain expected in March and monsoons expected in May would put the camps at risk of flooding, mudslides, and disease.
Speaking from the Balukhali camp, which houses approximately 900,000 Rohingya refugees, Dr Tony Stewart, WHO’s health operations lead in Cox’s Bazar, said: "This whole area that is built on a hillside is going to become a large muddy, flooded area and the risk of things like diarrhea, dysentery, mosquito-borne disease like dengue, malaria, and others are going to be a huge risk to the population.” Credit: WHO via Storyful
