Rohingya Crisis: UN humanitarian chief due tomorrow

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock and Unicef Executive Director Anthony Lake will be here on a three-day visit from tomorrow to see the Rohingya situation on the ground and discuss it with Bangladesh officials.

They will visit Cox's Bazar on October 2-3 and meet Rohingyas and assess their needs.

The purpose of the joint mission is to see, firsthand, the devastating humanitarian situation of the Rohingya refugees, an official told UNB yesterday.

Since late August, more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees, including 60 per cent children, have arrived in Cox's Bazar alone, marking the largest mass refugee crisis in the region in decades.

In Bangladesh, the total number of Rohingya refugees is now estimated to be well over 700,000 people while an unofficial figure suggests over 1 million.

The scale of the emergency has far surpassed initial projections, officials said.

The initial response plan, launched on September 7, sought US$77 million to assist 300,000 people.

As of September 29, the plan has received $36.4 million, or 47 per cent, of the funding requirements for the coordinated response.

Humanitarian partners are now revising the initial plan to account for the massive additional needs.

Lowcock and Lake will brief the media on the latest updates on the Rohingya refugee crisis, response and funding needs following their visit to the Rohingyas.