Health and Education in Cox’s Bazar

The influx of more than 700,000 Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh since August 2017 has increased the total displaced Rohingya population to approximately 1 million people in the Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh. This population, including large numbers of women, children and other vulnerable groups, has significant needs for health, nutrition and population and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, and is placing an immense strain on an already under-resourced service delivery system. There is also a significant need for education and life skills learning support for the approximately 300,000 Rohingya children and adolescents, as well as needs for teacher training, psycho-social activities to deal with shock and trauma and awareness raising among Rohingya children, adolescents and their families on issues such as child rights, gender violence and personal safety. The sudden influx of Rohingya has also posed an unprecedented burden on the host communities (approximately 1.3 million people) which were already among the poorest in Bangladesh. This project supports the Government of Bangladesh’s efforts to address the health, nutrition and basic education needs of the displaced Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar. Through an innovative financing mechanism, for every dollar contributed by Canada, the World Bank is providing five additional grant dollars in support of health and basic education services for the Rohingya. The project has two components: (1) a health component, which enables the displaced Rohingya, particularly women and girls, to access maternal, neonatal, infant, child and adolescent health and nutrition services, as well as reproductive health care and family planning support; and (2) a basic education component, which provides Rohingya children and adolescents access to basic education in a safe environment; and psycho-social services aimed at helping Rohingya children recover from shocks and prevent exploitation, with a focus on girls who are often victims of gender-based violence. By enhancing the Government of Bangladesh’s service delivery systems in Cox’s Bazar, the project also benefits the affected host communities.