UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- As the number of Rohingya refugees sheltering in southern Bangladesh crossed 800,000, United Nations agencies responding to the crisis are working hard to ensure access to reach the area so that much needed assistance can be delivered timely.
"With so many people having settled in such a small area, site planning and management is vital for the protection of Rohingya refugees," the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a news release Friday.
"We are working with (humanitarian) partners and the government to ensure access to displacement sites, all of which developed on hilly terrain, which is extremely difficult to reach with services," it added.
There are now 817,000 refugees in Cox's Bazar in the southern-most district of Bangladesh, including 200,000 who had been seeking refuge there prior to the exodus starging in late August. All but 46,000 among them are living in makeshift shelters or displacement sites, set up on hilly terrain, making access extremely challenging.
Building roads and basic infrastructure such as drains and stairways are therefore critical to ensure that all refugees can receive services as quickly as possible.
IOM has also dispatched health teams to provide emergency and primary health services to over 53,000 patients. It has also distributed personal hygiene kits to thousands of refugees.
At the same time, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has relocated some 1,700 new refugees from Kutupalong to a government-allocated site in southeastern Bangladesh, decongesting existing facilities in the overcrowded camp.
