Individuals compelled to leave their homes, particularly in armed conflict or disaster are considered the world’s most vulnerable. They have significant health needs that arise from their past mental and physical traumas in their native land, challenges faced during their travels to their new place, and struggles to adjust to a new situation after abandoning everything. Addressing their health needs necessitates humanitarian partners to tap into a broad spectrum of expertise that may not be locally available.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to ensuring that the vulnerable populations in Rohingya camps receive adequate health services by mobilizing subject experts from around the globe through its network of standby partners on a need basis. RedR Australia is one such esteemed partner.
Through the Australia Assists programme, RedR Australia has significantly contributed to WHO Bangladesh’s efforts in the Rohingya camps, especially supporting the areas of Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) and Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
“RedR Australia’s support in the Rohingya response has been invaluable. Their expertise and dedication have significantly contributed to our efforts in adding extra value to the ongoing response to the health needs of the Rohingya refugees. The collaboration between WHO and RedR Australia has enhanced the quality of health services within the community and sectors beyond health,” said Dr Jorge Martinez, Head of WHO Sub Office in Cox’s Bazar.
The WASH Officer, deployed by RedR Australia, uses a total chlorine colour Disc test kit to measure chlorine level for water quality assurance
During the COVID-19 pandemic, RCCE emerged as a crucial element of the response strategy. Its objective was to disseminate precise and timely information to the public, foster engagement with the Rohingya refugee communities and stakeholders, and encourage health-promoting and protective behaviour. Additionally, RCCE served as an effective tool to counteract misinformation, rumours, and stigma that could potentially compromise the response efforts.
RedR Australia has been instrumental in offering technical assistance, training, and mentoring Health Sector partners through WHO in close coordination with RCCE Technical Working Group members in developing RCCE strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic, RCCE micro plan to aid the mass COVID-19 vaccine campaign, action plans, guidelines, tools, and products to better engage with the community supported by policy framework. Furthermore, RedR has also supported WHO Bangladesh in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of these RCCE interventions. This assistance has played a pivotal role in enhancing the capacity and coordination of RCCE actors, improving the quality and reach of RCCE messages and activities, and bolstering the trust and participation of the communities in complementing the collective effort mounted by Health Sector partners to curtail the COVID-19 effects.
“The deployment of RedR Australia’s technical experts from their robust roster has been instrumental in leveraging the support required for the Rohingya response. For WHO, they’re a chance to tap into global expertise and get an outside perspective to fill the local gap WHO or the Health Sector has in the ongoing response,” said Dr Bardan Jung Rana, WHO Representative to Bangladesh
WHO's mandate is to ensure WASH benchmarks within the premises of the health facilities. So, The WHO Bangladesh with the support of RedR Australia and other health and WASH partners, launched the Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT) in Cox’s Bazar. WASH FIT is a risk-based, continuous improvement framework with multiple tools aimed at enhancing water, sanitation, hygiene, infection prevention control, healthcare waste management, and environmental cleanliness within and around healthcare facilities engaging the healthcare workers themselves. The goal of this WASH FIT is to improve the quality of health services in the healthcare facilities for the residents of the Rohingya camps and host communities. Since 2018, WASH FIT has been implemented in 198 healthcare facilities in four phases with the training 514 professionals, including health facility managers, doctors, nurses, and WASH and IPC focal points to ensure the benchmarks on WASH, Health Care Waste Management, environmental cleanliness, Infection Prevention & Control are achieved and maintained to avoid the risk of infectious hazard.
“As a partner of WHO, RedR Australia plays a vital role in bridging the gaps in the delivery of health services to the Rohingya refugees and the host communities in Bangladesh. Through the Australia Assists programme, RedR Australia has leveraged the wide range of technical expertise available on its roster to address the health challenges and needs of the most vulnerable people in the world. They also engaged with the communities and empowered them to adopt health-promoting and protective behaviours, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. They enhanced the quality and environment of the healthcare facilities through the WASH FIT initiative,” said Nicoleta Dumitru, Technical Officer, Standby Partner, WHO HQ, Geneva.
To gauge the effectiveness of WASH FIT, WHO undertook a comprehensive evaluation of all functioning healthcare facilities in Cox’s Bazar, as well as those within the Rohingya refugee camps. This evaluation involved a comparative analysis of indicators related to water, sanitation, and healthcare waste management, benchmarked against both national and international standards. The results of this assessment highlighted substantial advancements across various aspects of WASH FIT, demonstrating the program’s positive impact.
The WASH experts deployed through RedR Australia, in collaboration with WHO, have conducted three rounds (cycles) of Water Quality Surveillance (WQS) since 2022. During these rounds, they meticulously analysed a total of 6,939 water samples. These water samples were collected from various locations in the camps comprising 800 community point sources (tube wells), 55 pipeline water supply systems, 182 operational healthcare facilities and 311 learning/multiple centres and analysed for faecal contamination (E. Coli as indicator). In addition, a total of 5,790 household storage water samples were collected and analysed for E. Coli. The findings were consistently disseminated to partners within the WASH and Health sector to leverage joint response actions. This collaborative approach facilitated the implementation of necessary measures to mitigate the risk of water-borne diseases, thereby ensuring the health and safety of the communities served.
The partnership between WHO and RedR Australia has been crucial in addressing the health needs of Rohingya refugees and the immediate host communities. Through initiatives like RCCE and WASH FIT, they have improved healthcare standards and fostered community trust and participation. The success of these programs underscores the importance of international cooperation and the use of varied expertise in humanitarian aid. Moving forward, the continued support from allies like RedR Australia will be essential in protecting the health and well-being of the world’s most at-risk populations in a humanitarian setting.
As a Standby Partner (SBP) for the United Nations and the executing partner for the Australian Government’s humanitarian deployment initiative, Australia Assists, RedR Australia has been instrumental. Since 2018, the Australia Assists initiative has facilitated the deployment of six technical experts to WHO Bangladesh, contributing to various portfolios on a need basis through WHO Headquarters. For more information on this publication please contact Terence Ngwabe Che chet@who.int