Bangladesh — Camp Based Needs Assessment in IOM’s AoR Rohingya Refugee Response, Cox’s Bazar (October - December 2022)

After the Burmese military’s violent assault on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine Province began in August 2017, when thousands of Rohingya people fled their homes with severe persecution resulting in the creation of the world’s largest refugee camps in Bangladesh. More than five years have passed yet; due to political complications, the repatriation process is still in a despair situation. A few of them (29,458) have been relocated to Bhasan Char, a small silt island in the Bay of Bengal; however, a high majority of the Rohingya refugee population is concentrated in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district’s Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas, where they endure dire conditions due to living in crammed shelters, poor quality sanitation, inadequate health assistance with other issues. Every year when the monsoon season approaches, living in the camps becomes more difficult. Currently, fires have become commonplace in the camps. To support the population, several humanitarian agencies are providing them with various services. Moreover, to effectively provide assistance, it is crucial to identify their met and unmet needs as well as the major service gaps. Hence, several MSNAs have previously been implemented to support the response.

Most recently, in 2021, the MSNA was conducted to inform the 2022 Joint Response Plan (JRP). But, in 2022 there was no MSNA has been conducted, which indicates key information gaps and a lack of in-depth sector needs assessment. A multisectoral needs assessment was required as each sector has its own needs assessments, which may not always be possible to analyse the data in a way that allows identifying priority needs and areas for development from a broad perspective, whereas a multi-sectoral assessment that is matched with the humanitarian program cycle and offers a strategic planning tool for evidence-based prioritizing.

In addition, the design and implementation of efficient inter-sectoral programming became more important as the crisis is gradually transitioning from the initial emergency phase to a more protracted response. Detailed information on the access difficulties, needs and priorities of all affected populations is required. However, currently, the funding for the Rohingya people has become more challenging since the focus has now shifted to the crisis in Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Hence, with limited resources, it is really difficult to understand what support is needed most, and how to prioritize the requirement. Therefore, the camp-based needs assessment (CBNA) has been planned and implemented throughout the camps under IOM’s area of responsibilities to provide an overview of the multi-sectoral needs and priorities of the refugees to support detailed humanitarian planning of IOM’s internal programs in meeting the strategic objectives of the donors.