An 18-bed ICU facility for the Rohingyas living in the Cox’s Bazar camps has been inaugurated to fight off the Covid19 pandemic.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR said celebrating World Refugee Day 2020 on Saturday they have inaugurated the first Intensive Care Unit for refugees and local communities in Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital with the help of the government.
“This 18-bed ICU will serve the needs of refugees and local community members with the most severe coronavirus symptoms,” it said.
“With 10 ICU beds with life-saving ventilators, and 8 high-dependency beds, this unit is the first of its kind in Cox’s Bazar.”
“This ICU will fulfil the dreams of the people of Cox’s Bazar and provide the highest quality assistance and health care, so people will not need to travel elsewhere. We thank UNHCR for this support” said Shaimum Sarwar Kamal MP at the inauguration.
Already, UNHCR has constructed and opened two Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Isolation and Treatment facilities (SARI ITCs) in Cox’s Bazar, which are providing care to refugees and Bangladeshis alike.
A total of 29 patients have been discharged so far after having recovered from the virus.
UNHCR and humanitarian partners have also provided training, support, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline health workers.
This year, the number of forcibly displaced persons globally is higher than ever before at 79.5 million people – that is approximately 1 percent of the entire global population.
“On World Refugee Day, we are proud to celebrate the resilience of refugees globally and, in particular, the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh.
Today, with the inauguration of this Intensive Care Unit in Cox’s Bazar we can clearly see that everyone can make a difference, and that every action counts,” said Hinako Toki, Senior Operations Coordinator for UNHCR in Cox’s Bazar.
