
Stories from Our Health Clinic Serving Rohingya Refugees
Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar have survived horrific violence and forced displacement in Myanmar, and are now facing the devastating effects of COVID-19 in
1 in 10 newborns needs help breathing after birth. Helping Babies Breathe is an internationally recognized program aimed at reducing infant mortality by providing life-saving measures within the first minute of birth – the “Golden Minute.”
Since August 2017, over 742,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The vast majority of this population are female, of whom 15.5% are pregnant/lactating and nearly 40% are under 12 years old. Epidemics of diseases include Diphtheria, Measles, Cholera, Varicella, and Hepatitis which continue to pose a risk to the refugee population.
Since October 2017, MedGlobal has worked in partnership with local organizations such as Hope Foundation, OBAT Helpers, and Prantic to serve Rohingya refugees in our health clinic. Our field staff on the ground, along with over 100 volunteers from 10 different countries, have provided medical care with a focus on maternal-child health, NCD (non-communicable diseases), sexual and reproductive health, mental health and psychosocial support, and dental health.
MedGlobal has also established training programs, in particular a Helping Babies Breathe training course for local medical professionals in partnership with UNFPA. This course helps birth attendants develop skills that they can utilize within the first minutes of life, including identification of a baby in danger and administration of life-saving measures.
On August 25, 2017, several police posts in Rakhine state were attacked. In response, the Myanmar military launched what it called a “clearance operation,” which was essentially a pseudonym for ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. Since August of 2017, over 800,000 Rohingya women, children, and men have fled the Rakhine State region.Most Rohingya refugees arrived in Bangladesh with only the clothes on their backs. Now, over to 1.3 million refugees have set up camps in difficult terrains with little access to safe drinking water, food, shelter, or healthcare. The need for aid with this vastly growing humanitarian crisis has been overwhelming.
We are currently sending weekly teams of 4-8 medical personnel to the MedGlobal clinic in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. We are working in partnership with OBAT Helpers to provide Medical Professionals to service their clinic in Camp 4 Kutupalong Refugee camp.
The clinic currently sees close to 2000 Rohingya patients per week providing primary care, emergency, free medications and referrals. We are also working closely with OBAT Helpers to establish training programs for the local and refugee populations.
Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar have survived horrific violence and forced displacement in Myanmar, and are now facing the devastating effects of COVID-19 in
March 20, 2020 In the midst of the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic, MedGlobal urges immediate and urgent action to support refugees, displaced persons, and the
There are currently over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, over 75% of them are women and children. Our medical volunteers and local doctors have
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