Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh – home to roughly 1.1 million Rohingya refugees – is facing a humanitarian breaking point as chronic overcrowding, disease outbreaks and a severe funding shortfall threaten to collapse essential services.
Scale of the crisis
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 1 million Rohingya are living in the camps of Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee settlement, occupying just 24 sq km. That translates to a density of about 45 000 people per square kilometre – roughly 600 times the population density of Ireland – and makes the camps one of the most densely populated places on Earth [un.org]. In the past 18 months, an additional 150 000 Rohingya have arrived, fleeing renewed violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State [unhcr.org].
Personal accounts amid the overcrowding
In a bamboo‑frame shelter on the hills surrounding the camp, Nur Haba clutches a faded photograph of her mother, Mariam, who was shot dead in 2017 as the Myanmar military and Buddhist mobs swept through Rakhine. “She was shot in front of me,” Nur recalls, her voice trembling. The photo is one of the few possessions she rescued before her home was burned. Her two‑year‑old son, Mohammed, was swept away by a river during the chaotic flight and drowned.
Nur’s story mirrors the suffering of countless Rohingya. The United Nations has repeatedly described the community as “the most persecuted minority in the world” [un.org], a label that reflects decades of statelessness, denial of citizenship since Myanmar’s 1982 law and systematic abuse.
Health emergencies in cramped conditions
Overcrowding and inadequate sanitation have fueled repeated cholera, dengue fever and severe diarrhoeal disease outbreaks over the past year. UN officials warn that without sufficient funding, the risk of a major epidemic will rise sharply. “Disease spreads quickly when people live in such congested, unsanitary environments,” said Manish Kumar Agrawal, Bangladesh Country Director for Concern Worldwide, an Irish humanitarian organisation.
The health sector is already under strain; UNHCR has warned that health services could be “severely disrupted by September” if the $255 million appeal remains only 35 % funded [reuters.com]. By December, food assistance could halt and LPG cooking fuel could run out, jeopardising the daily lives of over a million people.
Climate vulnerability
UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, who visited the camp earlier this year, highlighted the “front‑line” position of Cox’s Bazar in the climate crisis. “Summers are scorching, fires spike, and monsoon floods and landslides destroy homes,” he said. Even in the dry season, the landscape bears scarred hills where temporary shelters were flattened by recent landslides, displacing families anew.
Aziz Ullah, a 23‑year‑old refugee who also fled in 2017, described the compounded hardships: “Hot seasons make clean water scarce, winters are freezing without warm clothes, and the rainy season brings landslides and flooding. The future for our young generation feels absolutely dark.”
Protection risks and limited livelihoods
Rohingya refugees are barred from formal work and movement outside the camps, leaving them wholly dependent on humanitarian aid. “When people have nothing to do, protection risks rise dramatically,” Agrawal warned. Recent reports document kidnappings, gang‑related violence and sexual exploitation inside the settlements, underscoring the fragile security environment.
Bangladesh’s capacity and the looming repatriation question
Bangladesh, a densely populated country with limited land, has repeatedly warned that its ability to host the refugee population is reaching its limits. Shamsud Douza, a senior official in the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, said, “Bangladesh is a small, land‑hungry country. Our main task is to eventually send them back, but the security situation in Myanmar makes mass repatriation unfeasible at present.”
Meanwhile, UNHCR continues to press the international community for urgent funding. Babar Baloch, UNHCR spokesperson, told reporters in Geneva that without an “immediate injection of funds,” essential services for the entire Rohingya population are at risk of collapsing, jeopardising health, nutrition and education for more than 230 000 children in the camps.
What lies ahead
The situation in Cox’s Bazar remains precarious. While humanitarian agencies strive to maintain food, health and education services, the funding gap threatens to reverse years of progress. With continued violence in Myanmar driving new arrivals and climate‑induced disasters adding pressure, the global community faces a stark choice: mobilise the required resources quickly or watch the world’s largest stateless community descend further into crisis.
For ongoing coverage of the Rohingya crisis, see our Cox’s Bazar special report.
