Workshop held to assist Rohingyas in cyclone season
Speakers at a workshop yesterday urged organisations working in the camps of Cox’s Bazar to prepare for the approaching monsoon season and collaborate in order to help the Rohingya population.
They stressed for joint efforts to reduce hazards caused by monsoon downpours and cyclones in Rohingya camps.
An estimated 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims have been living in makeshift settlements in Cox’s Bazar.
To discuss the situation, the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) and the government of Bangladesh, jointly organised the stakeholder workshop titled “Cyclone and Monsoon Preparedness: Cox’s Bazar District and Camp Settlements”.
Speaking at the opening session, Ahmadul Haq, Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) director, highlighted the CPP volunteers and Coverage in Cox’s Bazar. “We have 6585 CPP volunteers ready. Among them 990 are in Teknaf, 375 in Ukhiya and 1180 in Cox’s Bazar.”
Filip Papas, senior coordinator of ISCG, in his remarks said, “As the Rohingya camp settlements are very dense and built of extremely fragile materials, risk of landfalls during and after cyclones is still very high. Coordinated systems for responding to the impact of cyclones is essential.”
According to a press release by United Nations Development Programme yesterday, the first day of the two-day workshop focused on dealing with camp settlements in Cox’s Bazar. Md Shamsuddoha, deputy secretary of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, and Lt Col Iftekhar Ahmed, were present along with 250 participants from the government, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, United Nations, NGOs and INGOs.
The second day will focus on disaster risk reduction in Cox’s Bazar, where the Senior Secretary of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Md Shah Kamal, will be the chief guest.
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