Project Title: Essential Humanitarian Assistance to Rohingya Refugees and Adjacent Host Communities in Cox’s Bazar Through Inclusive Health, Education and Child Protection Interventions

Coverage of Areas: Camp 21 of Whykhonng, Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh ​ 

Facilities:    Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), Code-605 at Camp 21. 

Donor: ECHO

Supported by: Save the Children International (SCI), Bangladesh

 Duration: MR-3 & MR-4, 36 Months (1 June 2023 to 31 May 2026)

 Population focus: Under 5 Children, Adolescent boys and girls, Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and PWD.

Project Background: The ECHO HIP 2023 Project is an ongoing initiative designed to enhance healthcare access and deliver essential medical services through health facilities under PHCC. The project aims to improve the quality and reach of healthcare services for the Rohingya population through skilled health providers. Since May 2024, Partners in Health and Development (PHD) has been implementing maternity and outreach activities under this project. In March 2025, Save the Children International handed over the operation of outpatient department (OPD) services to PHD, and inpatient department (IPD) services have been operational since June 2025 at the Primary Healthcare Center (PHC), Camp 21. This PHC is scheduled to be upgraded into a Field Hospital from 20 January 2026, named the Child and Maternal Hospital, where PHD will operate OPD, IPD, and outreach activities, including laboratory services.

Objective: The project aims to ensure the delivery of safe, accessible, accountable, and participatory humanitarian health assistance while improving beneficiary satisfaction with services provided at the PHCC in Camp 21.

Expected Outcomes and Outputs:

  1. Outcome-01: Beneficiaries reporting that humanitarian assistance is delivered in a safe, accessible, accountable and participatory manner.
  2. Outcome-02: Target program participants who are satisfied with the services provided at the PHCC in Camp 21.

Outputs

  1. Primary health care consultations including Nutrition Interventions (OPD, IPD, RH, IYCF, EPI).
  2. Children who received community-based treatment for malaria, diarrhoea and/or acute respiratory infections.
  3. Number of Mental Health Consultation
  4. SGBV victims receiving assistance in less than 72 hours.
  5. Number of Mental Health Consultation
  6. Program participants who received modern methods of family planning services.
  7. Program participants referred by CHWs for OPD, SRH, IYCF-E, MHPSS consultations and EPI from community to health facilities.
  8. Program participants that received diagnostic services from the lab facility.
  9. Infants and mother at risk (in pairs) enrolled after screening for Community Management of At-risk Mothers and Infants (CMAMI) services from the health facility.
  10. Program participants that received rehabilitation service through one-to-one sessions.

Key Interventions:

  • Provision of comprehensive primary health care services, including OPD, IPD, Reproductive Health, Nutrition, IYCF-E, and EPI at the PHCC.
  • Delivery of survivor-centered SGBV response services ensuring access to essential assistance within 72 hours.
  • Provision of sexual and reproductive health services, including counseling and modern family planning methods.
  • Provision of diagnostic and laboratory services to support early detection and appropriate case management.
  • Screening, identification, and enrollment of at-risk mothers and infants into CMAMI services.
  • Delivery of individualized rehabilitation services through one-to-one sessions.
  • Conducting safe and medically supervised circumcision services for children, ensuring proper hygiene, pre and post-procedure counseling, and follow-up care.
  • Strengthening community outreach and referral systems through trained CHWs for OPD, SRH, IYCF-E, MHPSS, and EPI services for changing health behavior seeking.
  • Dedicated SAM Corner for Screening, Referral, and Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition.
  • Community-based interventions including day observation, household visits, meetings with community leaders (Majhi and Imam), pregnant mothers’ meetings, mother-to-mother support group sessions, Disability Support Committee (DSC) meetings, and adolescent group sessions for boys and girls to promote health awareness, inclusion and referral.

Name of the project: “BGD AHP Rohingya response phase 4”

 

Programme Area: Reproductive Health and Provide Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

 

Duration: January 2021 to June 2023 (Phase III)

August 2023 to July 2025 (Phase IV)

 

Funded by: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia (DFAT)

 

Managed by: Save the Children in Bangladesh

 

Implementation area of PHD: Refugee camps: 17, 18 (2 Health Posts initially)

Goal: The project goal is “Contribute to international efforts to meet humanitarian and protection needs and increase self-reliance and resilience building of Rohingya and host populations in Bangladesh”.

Objective: “Essential primary healthcare and COVID-19 specific home-based care are continued to reduce the morbidity and mortality of Rohingya refugees and adjacent host communities”.

Intermediate Outcome: Improved and equitable WASH, Primary Healthcare, SRH and Psychosocial Services

Outcome Statement: Essential primary healthcare and COVID-19 specific home-based care are continued to reduce the morbidity and mortality of Rohingya refugees and adjacent host communities.

Output 1.3.a: Inclusive essential healthcare delivered

Output 1.3.b: Coordinated COVID-19 response

The project will contribute to the delivery of the AHP Rohingya Refugee response with a focus on Outcome 1 (Basic Needs) through health, education and protection activities for refugee communities living in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh. Given the COVID-19 context, the program has a strong health focus which will strengthen the delivery of primary health services, including COVID-19 identification and management, through health posts previously established and funded via the AHP.  These health posts will also deliver medical services to identify acute or chronic medical conditions, support reproductive health and provide mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Where relevant, referrals will be made to relevant services to address protection issues, including child safeguarding (CSG) and gender-based violence (GBV).

Protection activities will focus on children and adolescents with diverse needs and vulnerabilities, including activities to mitigate exposure to protection risks caused and/or exacerbated by COVID-19. Overall, the project aims to facilitate access to specialized services such as, case management, psychosocial support, awareness raising and emergency referrals.

Name of the project: “Community Health Volunteer Network in Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya Upazila, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh in the context of the COVID-19 crisis”

 

Duration: July 2020 to December 2020  

 

Funded by: Médecins du Monde Japan (MdMJ)

 

Implementation area of PHD: Camps 13, 15 and 16 of Cox;s Bazar

Target audience: Approximately 7000 people in the camps 13, 15 and 16

Goal: The project goal is to “Meaningfully improve health outcomes for 7000 people in the camps 13, 15 and 16 in the face of COVID-19 crisis”.

Project brief:

Partners in Health and Development (PHD) and Médecins du Monde Japan (MdMJ) are currently providing training Rohingya volunteers and implementing CHV programming in Cox’s Bazar. The mutual goal is to meaningfully improve health outcomes for 7000 people in the camps 13, 15 and 16 in the face of COVID-19 crisis. In line with the role and guidance for Community Health Workers (CHW) as agreed upon in the CH Working Group (CH WG), PHD and MdMJ will work together to improve COVID 19 prevention and resilience while ensuring reduction of diarrheal disease, maternal and newborn mortality, and uptake of family planning methods among the target population. The project will link 38 Community Health Volunteers from the 3 camps with health and other essential services and support available, and enable them to share information, identify common needs, and standardize the response for the target population, where possible, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. The project will conduct trainings and supportive supervision that will build knowledge and skills among the volunteers. We will sensitize communities on COVID-19 risks and infection prevention and control measures. The project will improve standardized interventions, including a protocol for post-natal care for mothers and newborns, and meet the highest standards for reporting, utilizing approved tools that are in alignment with standards outlined by various ISCG working groups for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Community Health Working Group (CHWG). By creating a single, shared Community Health Volunteer (CHV) program, CPI aims to harness the capacity of Rohingya refugees as community volunteers in Cox’s Bazar to develop a network for community health programming that will provide primary care education, health services, and referrals at the household level.

Project objectives: Improve health outcomes for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

  1. Train, equip and provide ongoing support to Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) tenable them to provide access to health services, maternal and neonatal care, family planning, health education and hygiene promotion, and accompanied referrals in their respective communities in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.
  2. Support protection efforts that prevent and respond to gender-based violence
  3. Support facility-based deliveries among Rohingya refugees
  4. Link CHVs to ambulance services for emergency medical response

 

Name of the project: “Innovative approaches to reaching isolated adolescent girls in Cox’s Bazar with critical GBV and SRH information and services”

 

Programme Area: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV)

 

Duration: March 2020 to December 2020

 

Funded by: WOMEN’S REFUGEE COMMISION (WRC)

 

Implementation area of PHD: Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camps 

Project aims to collect: 550 stories from adolescent girls, 300 stories from their caregivers, 100 stories from adolescent boys and young men, and 50 stories from other adults important to adolescent girls’ lives.

Project objectives: Main objectives of the project are;

  1. Understanding barriers to access programs and services for adolescent Rohingya girls
  2. Identifying interventions with the help of community stakeholders and implement in according to their needs and priorities, and enable the environment for adolescent girls to access SRH and GBV information and services.

Synopsis of the project:

The Women’s Refuge Commission (WRC) will be working to expand access to sexual and reproductive Health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) information and services for adolescent Rohingya girls living in and around Cox’s Bazar. WRC will maintain an innovative technique to understand barriers to accessing information and services for adolescent Rohingya girls and identify innovative ways of reaching isolated adolescent girls with critical SRH and GBV information and services.

Partners in Health and Development (PHD) will work on finding the community barriers for adolescent girls and their needs and priorities and organize workshop with community stakeholders to present the existing situation and involve them in designing the program which will be befitting for the community girls. After designing the program, this team will go for interventions with explored and prepared program design. This organization will be responsible for review and adaptation of techniques and project protocols, recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers as well.