Investigating the resilience of refugee camps to COVID-19: A case of Rohingya settlements in Bangladesh

• Published in: Journal of migration and health (Online) Vol. 4; p. 100052
• Main Authors: Akter, Salma, Dhar, Tapan Kumar, Rahman, Abid Ibna A., Uddin, Md. Kamal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2021; Elsevier
• Subjects: Community resilience; COVID-19; Informality; Kutupalong; Rohingya refugee; COVID-19; Kutupalong; Community resilience; Informality; Rohingya refugee
• ISSN: 2666-6235; 2666-6235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmh.2021.100052

•The psychological stress and past trauma of refugees often force them to misunderstand the severity of COVID-19.•The attempts of health care providers and aid agencies in the Rohingya refugee camps are limited to follow international/national guidelines to protect against the COVID-19 outbreak.•The roles of local mediators to integrate the healthcare policies and the voices of the refugees are crucial to tackling COVID-19.
Bangladesh Rohingya camps have hosted 65,0000 refugees fled from Myanmar only since 2017. Their compromised living environment and limited physical and socioeconomic facilities make them highly sensitive to COVID-19. The Government of Bangladesh and international aid agencies have applied WHO's IPC (Infection, Prevention, and Control) guidelines to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 outbreaks and enhance their resilience. However, Rohingyas often disregard these guidelines or become reluctant to follow them. Building on 10 in-depth interviews, 66 questionnaires, and observation, the study investigates the limitations and challenges of implementing these guidelines toward building community resilience. It assesses their resilience, focusingon Kutupalong camp, Cox's Bazar−one of the world's largest refugee camps. Findings reveal that Rohingya's past experience associated with their psychological trauma largely influences their current actions and demotivates them from following the health guidelines. Their deep mistrust of and disrespect to healthcare providers and aid agencies discourage them to follow the IPC. Also, insufficient built infrastructure and unhygienic living conditions, including improper WASH management, increase their risk to COVID-19. The study highlights a need for understanding their socio-psychological values and cultural narratives and recommends a set of guidelines for policymakers and aid agencies to build community resilience to COVID -19.