The Rohingya refugees and host community members in Cox’s Bazar have produced over one million reusable face masks which IOM teams distributed to beneficiaries and partners.
After the breakout of Covid-19, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was one of the first agencies to start producing reusable cloth masks in Cox’s Bazar through its livelihood programme.
The current pandemic has put an enormous health and socioeconomic strain on an already frail health system in Cox’s Bazar, and in order to help vulnerable households cope with the new socioeconomic status quo, IOM has provided Rohingya refugees and host community members with several self-reliance and livelihood opportunities.
A total of 1,000 beneficiaries (80 per cent female) benefitted from income-generating activities linked to mask production, with support from IOM’s local implementing partners Nongor and Prottyashi, and local private sector partner Green Hope.
More than 400,000 host community members and 100,000 Rohingya refugees in different sub-districts around Cox’s Bazar and 16 IOM-managed camps received the masks (two per person).
In line with the Food Security Sector (FSS) Strategic Response, IOM now is able to ensure that host communities, government staff, law enforcement and other community personnel or professionals involved in delivering frontline assistance have access to preventive hygiene items to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Being involved in income-generating activities linked to COVID-19 prevention not only financially supported the participants, but also encouraged them to spread awareness-raising messages and become active messengers in the fight against the virus, said an IOM statement Wednesday.
“Through livelihood opportunities such as the local production of hygiene items, IOM aims to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, and also relieve some of the pressure accumulated from the pandemic’s socioeconomic impact on the local community,” declared Patrick Charignon, Head of IOM's Transition and Recovery Division in Cox's Bazar.
IOM plans to produce an additional 400,000 masks and will continue to work closely with the Food Security Sector (FSS) and Livelihoods Working Group (LHWG), following evolving guidelines and advisories to ensure a harmonised strategic response.
IOM’s mask production income-generating activity is supported by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), US’ Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
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