Episode: KPN 12-09-2023
Dhaka broaches Rohingya issue at global forum once more Bangladesh has been running from pillar to post urging global community to find an urgent solution to the Rohingya crisis. Dhaka’s […]
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100 children born in Rohingya camps everyday, why is the birth rate so high?
Some 100 children are born in the Rohingya camps every day, contributing to a significant increase in the Rohingya population by nearly two hundred thousand in the past six years.
This population growth is posing considerable challenges and crises for those involved in their management I Bangladesh.
Officials concerned believe that the high birth rate can be attributed, in part, to the lack of entertainment options within the camp life.
Most of the Rohingya refugee camps are concentrated in Kutupalong, Cox’s Bazar and is considered the largest refugee camp globally, housing over 700,000 Rohingya within a compact area.
For instance, in Kutupalong’s D-5 block, Noor Kabir resides with a family of nine, including his wife and seven children, ranging from 18 years old to three years old. Noor Kabir expressed his willingness to have more children if God permits.
It’s not just Noor Kabir; many Rohingya families in the 33 refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf have more than four children, and even those with five to six children are open to having more.
Khairul Amin, a resident of Kutupalong Camp 2 East, noted that he did not have any children back in Myanmar but has had four children since taking refuge in Bangladesh. He views the decision to have more children as something that is ultimately up to God.
According to the Office of Refugee Relief and Repatriation, approximately 100 children are born each day in Rohingya camps, resulting in nearly 200,000 births over the last six years. Health professionals and doctors managing the camps attribute this high birth rate to a lack of interest in family planning, increased food rations, and the absence of entertainment options in camp life.
Asma Akhtar, a midwife supervisor at the Kutupalay health care center in Ukhia, mentioned that Rohingya refugees show little interest in long-term birth control methods. They prefer not to opt for methods that would prevent pregnancies for three, five, or ten years. Rohingyas believe that a higher number of children means more per capita rations, which motivates them to have more offspring.
Dr. Fatema Akhtar, a medical officer at the same health care center, observed that Rohingyas tend to have more children as they lack job opportunities, and childbearing becomes a form of entertainment for them.
The total population of Cox’s Bazar district is approximately 2.4 million, with the Rohingya population in camps comprising nearly half of that total. This demographic shift presents a new challenge for the local population.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Md. Mizanur Rahman acknowledged the higher birth rate among Rohingyas compared to Bangladeshis, with around 100 children born daily in the camps. This rapid population growth poses a significant challenge due to the density of the population and limited space. The camps currently house approximately one million people in just eight thousand acres of land, leaving little room for newborns.
Efforts are underway to promote family planning, involving international non-governmental organisations and community leaders and imams within the Rohingya community. However, if repatriation of the Rohingyas does not occur swiftly, the situation could evolve into a multifaceted crisis, as the population in the refugee camps continues to increase while food aid decreases.
According to data from the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, there are approximately 200,000 families in the refugee camps, with a small percentage having more than 10 family members and a significant portion having between six to nine members. On average, each family consists of five members.
Since August 25, 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state to seek refuge in Bangladesh, adding to the existing Rohingya population that arrived in the 1990s. In total, about 1.2 million Rohingya now reside in 33 refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar.
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