The Cox’s Bazar crisis represents one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian emergencies, originating from the mass influx of over 745,000 Rohingya refugees from Rakhine State, Myanmar, in August 2017. Currently, around 1.14 million refugees live in 33 densely populated camps across Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas, alongside a vulnerable host community. The situation has evolved beyond an acute emergency into a complex humanitarian-development challenge marked by severe food insecurity, deteriorating health conditions, and growing socio-environmental strain. Overcrowding within camps aggravated by high birth rates averaging 30,000–35,000 new births annually continue to stretch already limited resources, increase demand for maternal and child health services, and exacerbate sanitation challenges.
The demographic composition of the refugee population remains weighted toward vulnerable groups: 52 percent are women and girls, 49 percent are children under 18, and about 4 percent are older persons (UNHCR, July 2025). The majority are stateless ethnic Rohingya who remain fully dependent on humanitarian aid. Recurrent funding shortfalls have directly worsened living conditions. Since 2023, WFP has been forced to reduce food rations by up to 30 percent due to severe funding gaps, cutting monthly entitlements and pushing thousands of households into crisis-level food insecurity. Malnutrition rates have consequently risen, with Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) fluctuating between 8.6 and 12.7 percent (UNHCR, 2024).
The Joint Response Plan (JRP) and ISNA/J-MSNA assessments identify the most acute shortfalls in food security, health (including disease surveillance and primary care), nutrition, WASH, shelter-CCCM, protection (child protection, GBV), and education, with the greatest concentration of unmet needs in the most congested camps and in adjacent host-community. The JRP’s hyper-prioritization for 2025 lists food security, health & nutrition, shelter, protection, site management and WASH among the first-priority gaps to avoid a collapse in life-saving services (JRP 2025-26).
Some ACT Alliance members are currently on the ground implementing projects. However, due to the high level of needs, members of the Bangladesh Forum — including CCDB, CA, RDRS, and Cordaid — are planning to publish an appeal to address the urgent needs of the refugees and to strengthen the resilience of affected communities.
