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BANGLADESH / COVID-19 ROHINGYA REFUGEES
STORY: BANGLADESH / COVID-19 ROHINGYA REFUGEES
TRT: 2:02
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 APRIL 2020, KUTUPALONG REFUGEE CAMP, BANGLADESH
1.Wide shot, pan of the construction site
2.Wide shot, the construction site
3.Close up, view of the workers working on the bamboo structure.
4. Wide shot, work going on the roof of the centre
5. Wide shot, workers carrying materials to the construction site. Country rep speaking to the staff and workers working on the project.
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Corliss, Country Representative for UNHCR:
‘’So far, we seem to have been very lucky, there are no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Rohingya refugee settlement center in southern Bangladesh, but we are in a race against time. We’re trying to get ready, but you see behind me here Is an isolation and treatment center which could provide immediate care to 150-200 persons. Similar centers are being constructed in different places in and around the Rohingya refugee settlements. They’ll serve the refugees, but they’ll also serve the local community. This is very important, virus does not respect status, it doesn’t whether you’re a Rohingya or a Bangladeshi, so everything that we’re doing, all of our response has to be for both communities. The UN and our NGO partners are working very closely with the government to ensure that alignment. ‘’
7.Wide shot, workers gathering sand, bamboo and bricks for the construction
While no COVID-19 cases have been reported among Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is taking supporting measures to prepare to face the pandemic, including building an isolation ward to treat patients.
Speaking on-site at the isolation treatment centre being built in Ukhiya to serve both Rohingya refugees and the host community in the Cox’s Bazar district, UNHCR’s country representative in Bangladesh Steven Corliss said, ‘’so far, we seem to have been very lucky, there are no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Rohingya refugee settlement center in southern Bangladesh, but we are in a race against time. We’re trying to get ready, but you see behind me here Is an isolation and treatment center which could provide immediate care to 150-200 persons.”
Corliss continued, “similar centers are being constructed in different places in and around the Rohingya refugee settlements. They’ll serve the refugees, but they’ll also serve the local community. This is very important, virus does not respect status, it doesn’t whether you’re a Rohingya or a Bangladeshi, so everything that we’re doing, all of our response has to be for both communities. The UN and our NGO partners are working very closely with the government to ensure that alignment. ‘’
The Bangladeshi government, leading on the COVID-19 response, has put in place a National Response Plan that takes into consideration the refugee population. The humanitarian community continues to advocate that refugees are fully included in the implementation of this and all district level plans. Furthermore, UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies have finalized a multi-sector response plan and a specific health sector response plan in Cox’s Bazar, in support to the Government.
As of 24 March, the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) officially confirmed that all activities, except for essential services, would be suspended in all 34 Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar from 25 March, in a bid to avert an outbreak of COVID-19 and issued an advisory outlining the essential services which will currently continue in the camps. These included health, nutrition, information hubs, hygiene promotion and health awareness, individual protection services, reception of new arrivals, maintenance of water and sanitation facilities, as well as key distributions such as food, LPG and hygiene kits.
The humanitarian community including UNHCR is taking all preventative and precautionary measures to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 to the people we serve, as well as its own teams, while also ensuring that essential activities, to the extent possible, continue, including but not limited to health, nutrition, essential protection services and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities as well as key distributions such as food, LPG and hygiene kits.
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training has been delivered to staff in health facilities, emphasizing measures to be taken to control COVID-19. This has been completed in all clinics and facilities serving the Rohingya camps. 280 health facility staff have been trained. Furthermore, up to 250 clinical focal points of health facilities are receiving refresher trainings on Early Warning Alert and Response System (EWARS). Around 800 staff from key sectors, agencies and Government bodies have also received briefings.
Hygiene promotion has been stepped up in the camps, and all partners are ensuring that water and soap is readily available to all. Additional measures, including increasing the number of handwashing facilities in distribution centres, health points, nutrition centres, community centres and other places where we deliver services are underway.
Training of trainers for 180 refugee comunity health work supervisors was completed. They are in turn training all community health workers and other refugee volunteers on key messages. More than 1,400 refugee community health work volunteers work within the camps to ensure key messages are shared regularly with the refugee population. More than 400 Protection community outreach workers will also support on message dissemination as well as Imams and other community leaders.
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