As part of our Emergency Relief Project, our team distributed sleeping mats and essential household items to affected families, helping them restore comfort, dignity, and stability in the midst of crisis.

An estimated 48,000 Rohingya refugees have lost their shelters and belongings in the blaze which devastated parts of the Kutupalong-Balukhali refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar last Monday (22 March). Sheltering more than 600,000 refugees, this is the largest refugee camp in the world.

The fire has destroyed more than 9,500 shelters. Refugees who lost their shelters are being temporarily accommodated within the camp. The fire has also reduced to ashes more than 1,600 important infrastructure facilities vital for daily operations, including hospitals, learning centres, aid distribution points and a registration centre.

In addition to thousands of relief items,RSUR has also provided emergency aid supplies to support the affected areas.we have established and equipped mobile medical teams to provide first aid to affected refugees. Psychosocial support is equally important following this devastating fire.

Our staff are being deployed at RSUR food distribution points for the next three weeks to facilitate the issuance of replacement registration documents for refugees who lost theirs in the fire. We have extended support to local community organization for coordinating the response on the ground to ensure equitable access to protection, services, information and assistance for vulnerable families, older refugees and people with disabilities. Mitigation of gender-based violence risks through awareness-raising and monitoring is another priority.

Our teams on the ground are monitoring the safety and security of refugees. We are also working to address the critical needs of separated children. Since the fire, together with our partners, we’ve identified more than 600 separated girls and boys who have been reunited with their families. Our protection partners also established two child protection helplines and four reunification help desks.

Hundreds of our volunteers are also supporting affected families Throughout the Rohingya refugee crisis, these volunteers have been critical to the humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar camps. Last week, they were among the first responders in the collective effort to extinguish the fire. Since then, they have been helping older refugees, children and pregnant women to find safe shelters, escorting people to health care facilities, clearing debris, and identifying and referring refugees with specific needs to relevant services. They are also running awareness sessions on child protection risks such as child-trafficking and gender-based violence, fire safety, first aid and general assistance.

In addition to critical protection other urgent needs include first aid and emergency health services, delivery of safe water, construction of tap stands and emergency latrines, shelter and essential aid as well as reconstruction of key infrastructure.

The RSUR assisted in providing family food packages to 1,984 households affected by this fire hazard. We also supported emergency clothing packages to 223 families and distributed dignity kit packs among 250 families so that women and adolescent girls’ dignity can be ensured. Each dignity kit pack contained important hygiene items i.e. both disposable & reusable sanitary pad, underwear, bathing soap, laundry soap, washing powder, soap box, tooth brush, tooth paste, hair comb, petroleum jelly/lotion, nail clipper, coconut hair oil, shampoo and cotton towel that a woman should need to manage her period in a healthy and hygienic manner.