The World Bank says Rohingya crisis is growing rapidly and feels it is an urgent need to help Bangladesh cope with the influx.
Its South Asia Region Vice President Annette Dixon said this on Wednesday after visiting the Rohingya camps on Saturday. She added that the World Bank was ready to stand by Bangladesh and the displaced Rohingyas.
Describing what she witnessed during the visit, Dixon said, “The scale of the influx is enormous. As far as the eyes can see, lines after lines of shelters—made of plastic sheets and bamboos—stretched over the deforested hills.
She said, “It is creating huge pressure on the infrastructure and services as well as on the water resources and the environment. When the monsoon approaches, the challenges with disease and natural disasters will increase.”
The World Bank official also talked to local government officials and representatives of many local and international relief agencies and NGOs that are working to support the Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar.
Earlier in the week, Dixon spoke at the invitation of the government at the Bangladesh Development Forum in Dhaka and praised Bangladesh’s remarkable success in reducing poverty and advancing development.