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A young woman holding her child in the Rohingya Refugee Camp, Cox's Bazar.
 
 

DEVELOPING...on Wednesday, the strongest cyclone ever recorded over the Bay of Bengal made landfall in India and Bangladesh, impacting millions of people in vulnerable communities in the area.

The region also includes the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, where the first cases of COVID-19 were recently confirmed. Nearly one million Rohingya people live in the camps, and with over 100,000 people crammed in each square mile, social distancing is impossible.

This is a crisis on top of a crisis – without assistance, people will be at risk of water-borne infections rampant during the cyclone as well as COVID-19.

Oxfam aims to ramp up work on hygiene, water, and sanitation facilities for refugee families living in Cox's Bazar. We're also working with partners to evacuate people to cyclone shelters in other areas of India and Bangladesh.

This urgent work can only happen with your help. Please, make an emergency contribution today.

Donate now – your support is urgently needed >>

Cyclone Amphan is expected to have widespread effects in India and Bangladesh. Pankaj Anand, Oxfam India's Director of Programs and Humanitarian Response, reported:

"Many of the cyclone evacuation shelters are already being used as coronavirus quarantine centres or housing migrants who have returned to their coastal communities because of lockdown. People are worried there won't be enough space in the shelters and that they might catch coronavirus in them."

Dipankar Datta, Oxfam Bangladesh's Country Director, reported:

"It is already a huge challenge to contain the spread of coronavirus amongst the Rohingya refugees living in over-crowded camps, sharing water and toilet facilities. Cyclone Amphan is also a major threat to the millions of vulnerable Bangladeshis living in low-lying flood prone coastal areas."

In India, Oxfam is working with local partners to position emergency supplies like shelter material (tarpaulins, ground sheets, blankets), clean water, hygiene kits, solar lanterns, and dignity kits for women and girls.

In Bangladesh, there are fears that up to 1.4 million people may be displaced due to the cyclone and 600,000 homes could be destroyed. We're helping evacuate people to cyclone shelters and providing safe drinking water and dry food. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, we are distributing masks, providing handwashing facilities, and helping disinfect cyclone shelters.

Lives are on the line – and we need to act quickly. Vulnerable communities are facing a double crisis – the damage caused by Cyclone Amphan, and the risk of COVID-19. Your support can make an immediate difference.

Please, donate today. Your support will go directly to helping people recover from this disaster >>

Thank you for your dedication.

Sincerely,

Abby Maxman
President
Oxfam America

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