Comprehensive accessibility programme for large refugee camps

Inclusive Rohingya Response was launched by the Centre for Disability in Development, a leading NGO in Bangladesh. It identifies inaccessible facilities in refugee camps of the Rohingya people and modifies them with locally available materials, provides training for staff members and health and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities.

The Centre for Disability in Development (CDD), a leading NGO in Bangladesh, has launched the Inclusive Rohingya Response to improve living conditions in refugee camps of the Rohingya people in Ukhia, in the district of Cox’s Bazar. The programme identifies and modifies inaccessible structures such as homes, sanitation facilities, and food distribution centres, supported by continuous staff training on the principles of accessibility and inclusion. To date, hundreds of camp residents with disabilities have benefitted.

Problems Targeted

People with disabilities in Rohingya camps and surrounding host communities face challenges due to inaccessible facilities and service points at shelters.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

CDD, supported by its partner CBM, the international NGO headquartered in Germany, provides health and rehabilitation services at the camp and host communities. Services include general health assessment and rehabilitation, eye and ear screening, provision of assistive devices (including artificial limbs and prosthetics), cataract surgery, and ambulance service. The project has also installed accessible facilities, such as curb ramps, handrails, and step modifications using locally available materials such as bamboo, wood, and concrete. People with disabilities are consulted at all stages of service provision and are also part of the access audit teams. From 2018 to mid-2021 more than 250 people with disabilities were directly supported and more than 50 facilities were improved. These measures increased access to related services, e.g., health care, livelihoods, and the government’s social safety net programmes in the camps. CDD also provided capacity-building training and onsite technical support on accessibility to 1,080 staff members of mainstream humanitarian organizations between 2017 and 2021.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The whole project is grant-funded, with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade being the primary donors. The total programme budget for the period January 2018 to June 2021 was approximately $4 million. The programme is designed to support 200 additional beneficiaries and to build new facilities in the camp every year.

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