UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh in Geneva finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to voluntary returns of Rohingya refugees once conditions in Myanmar are conducive.

UNHCR and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched a project to prevent dangerous encounters with elephants, which have resulted in at least 10 deaths in Kutupalong settlement. The highly congested site lies on one of the migratory routes for Asian elephants.

UNHCR called on the international community to step up its support for some 900,000 stateless Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the majority having fled in August 2017. UNHCR urged renewed international engagement and support for refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, in order to expand the response from day-to-day lifesaving operations to also address challenges such as education and self-reliance for the Rohingya refugees.

UNHCR has delivered five humanitarian airlifts which were loaded with supplied such as tents, plastic sheets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and kitchen sets. A sixth airlift is being scheduled.

UNHCR has just completed the first phase of Rohingya refugee family counting, where more than half a million refugees from Myanmar have so far been counted. Going from shelter to shelter, more than 100 UNHCR-hired enumerators have so far gathered data on more than 120,000 families. In the innovative and revealing family counting exercise, UNHCR teams found that one-third of the families are vulnerable.

UNHCR hosted a gathering with political leaders from four continents, including Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Turkey and the World Bank at the UN General Assembly High Level Week in support of the global compact on refugees, a robust and systematic model to improve the lives of refugees and their host communities. The High Commissioner praised the role of host countries as first responders to refugee emergencies, like Bangladesh. The compact is expected to be endorsed in December 2018.

UNHCR identified sites to build five additional health centres, as planned in its emergency response plan. Two centres are under construction and already providing some services, such as outpatient and maternity services. The five health centres will benefit approximately 50,000 patients each, thus covering a total 250,000 refugees.

UNHCR is expanding its community outreach into the new settlements and makeshift sites by identifying and setting up networks of trained community outreach members (COMs) to strengthen two-way communication, follow-up on persons with specific needs, carry out community-led solutions, and engage in prevention.

UNHCR teams conducted a mapping of latrine and tube wells in two zones of Kutupalong to analyze the distribution of facilities in the zones and better assess whether coverage is sufficient in the area. So far, over 200 WASH facilities have been mapped. This exercise has shown an urgent need for desludging and for additional latrines. UNHCR and partners are already planning the constructions of 10 latrines and four tube wells in one zone of Kutupalong. These will cater for 500 and 2,000 people respectively.

UNHCR teams continue to conduct protection monitoring and to identify protection incidents in settlements, facilitated by the use of complaint boxes and a hotline service that is open seven days a week. This week, UNHCR received almost 40 calls through the hotline, related to issues of family disputes, medical assistance, and violence. A tracking incidents system has been established and since the launch of the hotline on 3 January and 20 January, some 63 calls were referred to the appropriate services.