Since August 2017, an estimated 728,306 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District from Myanmar, bringing the total number of Rohingya refugees residing in Bangladesh to approximately 895,631. The rapid and massive increase of the refugee population, concentrated in the south of the district in Ukhia and Teknaf, has had an enormous impact on Bangladeshi host communities’ food security, economic vulnerability, market access, labour opportunities and environment. At the same time, the crisis has generated some positive impacts in terms of new labour and livelihood opportunities provided by the presence of a rapidly expanding humanitarian sector, and increased demand for goods and services by Rohingya themselves.
The majority of available data on the host community populations of Ukhia and Teknaf pre-dates the current influx of refugees. While a number of post-influx assessments have included host community populations, the information they provide has significant limitations in terms of being able to serve as the basis for strategic prioritisation and decision-making.
The assessment aims to identify the severity and geographical spread of acute needs within the host community population. Its primary audience is ISCG, sectors, sector partners, and humanitarian donors. In this respect, the long-term development needs of the population that are more likely to be met by government or development agency intervention are not the core focus of this assessment. Similarly, this assessment is not designed to assess the impact of the August 2016 refugee influx on the host community (though may serve as a point of triangulation for actors wishing to do so).
