Khaleda washes her hands using the collected water. Her family member is helping her by pouring the water on her hands. A family member helps Khaleda wash her hands using the water they have collected. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Updated on 8 September 2026
overview
In 2026, the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh enters its tenth year. Nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh with no safe and voluntary return in sight. When the Rohingya crisis first erupted in 2017, Oxfam Hong Kong launched a public appeal and supported more than 240,000 people through programmes in clean water and sanitation, livelihoods, protection, and community development. Although the public appeal has since concluded, Oxfam Hong Kong has remained committed to supporting the Rohingya community, helping families rebuild their lives with dignity and resilience.
As climate-related disasters intensify and humanitarian funding declines, the support that families rely on is increasingly at risk. After ten years of displacement, Rohingya refugees must not be forgotten.
Oxfam’s rESPONSE IN 2017
When nearly one million Rohingya refugees arrived in Cox’s Bazar in 2017, overcrowded camps faced severe risks of disease and contamination. Oxfam’s has provided these emergency responses:
- 240,000 beneficiaries reached
- 310,000L water provided daily through surface water treatment, plus 90,000 L water per day through water trucking412 shallow tube wells and 166 deep tube wells installed
- 12,792 hygiene kits and 5,276 shower kits distributed
- 2,900 emergency latrines constructed
- 25 solar streetlamps installed
- 3,892 households received clothing
- 690 bathing cubicles and 425 handwashing stations constructed
- 17,143 hygiene promotion sessions conducted with 556 Rohingya community-based volunteers23,568 households supported through fresh food vouchers
Although this emergency appeal response has now closed, these interventions laid critical foundations for ongoing WASH services and community resilience in the refugee camps.
We sincerely thank everyone who supported our appeal. Your contribution means a lot to Oxfam and all our beneficiaries in Bangladesh.
The situation now
Ten years after the involuntary mass displacement from Myanmar, Bangladesh continues to host nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, mainly in Cox’s Bazar. Families live in overcrowded, unsafe shelters that are highly vulnerable to rain, landslides, and flooding. Poor drainage and inadequate sanitation further increase the risk of disease outbreaks and worsening living conditions.
At the same time, funding for the Rohingya humanitarian support is falling sharply. As essential services face potential cuts, protection risks are increasing—particularly for women and children—while pressure on host communities, national systems, and humanitarian organisations continues to grow.
After ten years, the crisis must not be forgotten. Continued support is vital to protect lives, preserve dignity, and help Rohingya refugees and host communities build safer, more resilient futures.
VIDEO
Together,
we can make sure no one is forgotten
—starting today.
OxFAM'S RECENT RESPONSES
Ten years after the involuntary mass displacement from Myanmar, Bangladesh continues to host nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, mainly in Cox’s Bazar. Families live in overcrowded, unsafe shelters that are highly vulnerable to rain, landslides, and flooding. Poor drainage and inadequate sanitation further increase the risk of disease outbreaks and worsening living conditions.
At the same time, funding for the Rohingya humanitarian support is falling sharply. As essential services face potential cuts, protection risks are increasing—particularly for women and children—while pressure on host communities, national systems, and humanitarian organisations continues to grow.
After ten years, the crisis must not be forgotten. Continued support is vital to protect lives, preserve dignity, and help Rohingya refugees and host communities build safer, more resilient futures.
As the emergency evolving into a protracted humanitarian crisis, our work has shifted towards locally led, long-term interventions focused on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) systems, protection and inclusion, sustainable food production, and livelihood transformation:
WASH System
- Over 80,000 Rohingya individuals gained access to improved sanitation services through centralized fecal sludge treatment plant.
- 15,000 Rohingya beneficiaries of safe and functional sanitation facilities.
- 5,000 latrine facilities constructed and maintained.
- 1,000 women's bathing cubicles to enhance privacy, dignity, and safety for women and girls.
- 60,000 Rohingya and host community women received bathing and laundry soap
- 28,000 beneficiaries from host and surrounding communities through 10 groundwater recharge systems
Protection and Inclusion
- 9,000 Rohingya beneficiaries of essential non-food items
- 100 members of five Rohingya Refugee-Led Organisations received leadership trainings and expanded networks, enhancing community representation and advocacy.
- Around 87,000 Rohingya beneficiaries across five refugee camps received protection monitoring and community-based protection services
Sustainable Food Production
- 3,300 Rohingya and host community beneficiaries supported by food security programme
- Around 5,000 households supported with sack gardens, vertical cultivation, raised beds, mushroom production, and small-scale poultry
- More than 4,100 refugee families across five camps now grow their own vegetables
Livelihood Transformation:
- 1,550 Rohingya and Host community beneficiaries covered by livelihoods and skills development programme
- Community-led soap and menstrual kit production to meet essential hygiene needs and create income.
Ten years in exile, still no safe home. Help Oxfam sustain essential care for Rohingya families.
Khaleda collects safe drinking water from a nearby collection point. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Khairul Bashar works on routine maintenance of the water pipes connected to the solar-powered water system. (Jubair Bin Iqbal/Oxfam)
Omar Shahad, Mohammed Jamil and Mohammed Arfat study together in the community library. (Jubair Bin Iqbal/Oxfam)
A community worker works inside the Solid Waste Management Facility in Refugee Camp - 4, Ukhiya, to separate the solid waste chunks. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Aerial view of the Surface Water Treatment Plant linked to the nearby unclean water body in Teknaf with the Rohingya Camps in the back. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Md Zakir smiles with his hands crossed standing comfortably as there is no bad smell in front of a community toilet in the refugee camp. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Noor Bahar looks ahead while picking vegetables from her hanging garden. (Jubair Bin Iqbal/Oxfam)
Suriya Khatun rests on her wheelchair as a few rays of light comes from outside her shelter. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Senowara Begum smiles while holding her stitched product with a design in her home. (Jubayer Bin Iqbal/Oxfam)
Khaleda takes care of her child and helps him drink the safe water while he eats. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
Oxfam partner, Mukti Cox's Bazar, implements training in gardening and vegetable cultivation with Rohingya refugees and host community members. Participants have been able to cultivate healthy and climate-smart vegetable gardens, supporting their livelihoods. (Mukti Cox's Bazar/Oxfam)
Oxfam partner, Mukti Cox's Bazar, has implemented training in gardening and vegetable cultivation with Rohingya refugees and host community members. Participants have been able to cultivate healthy and climate-smart vegetable gardens, supporting their livelihoods. (Mukti Cox's Bazar/Oxfam)
Abita throws her home waste into the green bin outside her house. Separated by colour, she knows which type of waste goes into which basket. (Mushfiqul Alam/Oxfam)
