Bangladesh: Covid-19 Aid Limits Imperil Rohingya

(Bangkok) – The Bangladesh government’s new Covid-19 restrictions on access to aid put Rohingya refugees at greater risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The lockdown measures cut humanitarian workers in refugee camps by 80 percent and put the refugees at severe risk of food and water shortages and disease outbreak.

Bangladesh authorities should ensure that any pandemic containment measures do not hinder aid groups’ ability to provide food, water, and health care, or prevent them from protecting refugees most at risk, including women and girls facing violence and domestic abuse.