Over 30% Rohingya children chronically undernourished: Study

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Bangla Tribune Desk
Published : 02:00, May 10, 2019 | Updated : 02:00, May 10, 2019

A doctor checks a three-day old baby as Rohingya refugees gather at a relief point for babies and pregnant women at the Kutupalang refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Oct 2, 2017. REUTERSAbout 32 percent of Rohingya children, aged between six and 59 months, who arrived in Bangladesh after August 2017 are chronically undernourished, while another 13 percent are acutely undernourished, says a recent study.

Thirty-six percent of Rohingya children in the same age group who arrived at camps in Cox’s Bazar before August 2017 are chronically undernourished, while another 12 percent are acutely undernourished, says the study conducted jointly by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and International Food Policy Research Institution (IFPRI).

According to the study, which was launched in Dhaka on Thursday (May 9), Rohingya children’s nutritional status improved between 2017 and 2018, but their undernourishment remains unacceptably high due to poor maternal nutrition and hygiene conditions in the camps.

A Rohingya refugee child is handed food rations at Jamtoli refugee camp near Cox`s Bazaar, Bangladesh, March 29, 2018. REUTERSSpeaking at the launching, Planning Minister Abdul Mannan said although the Bangladesh government’s performance in most cases is criticized, its role in tackling the Rohingyas has been largely commended in the international arena.

“The Rohingyas are actually not in good condition,” said the minister.

“We have to work in coordination (with donor countries and agencies) on the Rohingya children’s undernourishment,” he said, adding that the government will focus on the matter, too.

Terming the global response to the humanitarian crisis so far as satisfactory, BIDS Director General KAS Murshid said it has become a real challenge to take necessary measures to battle the crisis before it worsens further.

“Necessary and immediate initiatives from all concerned are a must before the global response (to the Rohingya issue) dries out,” he said.

According to UNHCR, more than 723,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh to escape the violence that broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on Aug 25, 2017. The vast majority of them are women and children, with more than 40 percent being under the age 12.

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