A UNHCR-chartered Boeing 777 flew in this morning with 91 metric tonnes of aid, including much needed shelter materials, jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and other essential items. The aid will be delivered to the refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh. A second flight donated by United Arab Emirates (UAE) is scheduled to land at 14:15 this afternoon local time, bringing in some 1,700 family tents.

According to WHO, diphtheria is “rapidly spreading among Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar.” On 6 December, WHO warned that more than 110 suspected cases, including 6 deaths, have been clinically diagnosed by health partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). Diphtheria is a highly infectious respiratory disease that spreads through droplet and can be deadly, particularly in overcrowded areas with no proper sanitation system. WHO is working with the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), UNICEF, and partners to contain the spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease through effective treatment and adequate prevention. For its part, UNHCR immediately made part of the Rubber Plantation Transit Centre available to serve as a treatment and isolation facility for patients under MSF management. Sixty-eight patients were transferred on 9 December 2017. The outbreak has impacted the upcoming relocation of some 10,000 refugees currently in border areas in Bandarban district; their relocation will be delayed to allow for the vaccination of children.

After spending two days visiting Cox's Bazar, Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of UNHCR, met with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, in which she expressed UNHCR’s gratitude to the people and Government of Bangladesh for their generosity in receiving Rohingya refugees. She reiterated UNHCR’s support for collective efforts to enable Rohingya refugees to live dignified lives in Bangladesh and the pursuit of lasting solutions.

Arrivals from Myanmar have significantly decreased, with over 2,200 refugees crossing into Bangladesh from 1 to 26 December, compared to over 12,700 in November.

As part of their winterization activities, UNHCR and its partners are continuing to distribute shawls and sweaters as the temperatures decrease. A total of 20,458 shawls were distributed as of 20 December. UNHCR is also distributing, through its partners, sweaters for children under five. In Nayapara, the military agreed for UNHCR to use its distribution point, which will increase the outreach from 526 families to 1,200 families during each distribution that takes place four times a week.