EU releases €1mn aid in response to hepatitis C outbreak in Cox's Bazar refugee camps

The European Union (EU) has released €1 million (around 125 million Bangladeshi taka) in humanitarian aid to contain the spread of hepatitis C in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar.

This funding will support the response plan outlined by the World Health Organisation and other partners providing healthcare in the camps.

This plan includes the screening of almost 475,000 people, as well as treatment for some 135,000 patients, said the EU Embassy in Dhaka today (19 December).

Prevention activities will also be carried out, for instance infection prevention and control and waste management, as well as risk communication and community engagement with the affected population.

This new funding comes in addition to the more than €54 million already allocated in humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh this year.

This assistance funded support to the Rohingya refugees living in camps in Cox's Bazar, as well as for host communities impacted by other emergencies across the country, such as tropical cyclone Remal and severe monsoon floods.

Hosting around one million Rohingya refugees, the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar currently register a high prevalence of hepatitis C, affecting nearly a third of the population.

The infection rate is the highest of any population in the world.

In addition to the challenges of hepatitis C, Rohingya refugees continue to be heavily reliant on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs, and there remains a lack of durable solutions for this protracted crisis.

The EU funding is being made available via the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) department of the European Commission.

With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the EU helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year, providing assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.