Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) perspectives show risks to health and well-being from poor shelter and services, requiring coordinated humanitarian responses.
Authors
Manar Marzouk, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, London, United Kingdom
Muhammad Ferdaus, BRAC University, Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Samia Zaman, BRAC University, Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Adnan Tahsin Alamder, BRAC University, Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sneha Krishnan, Professor, Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India
Hafiza Khatun, University of Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Anna Durrance-Bagale, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, London, United Kingdom
Max D López Toledano, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Md Humayun Kabir, University of Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Natasha Howard, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, London, United Kingdom; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Summary
Since 2017, more than 600000 Rohingya have sought refuge in Bangladesh, as Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN), in registered camps or improvised settlements in Cox’s Bazar. Although humanitarian responses have significantly improved in the past decades, coordination gaps remain between health and non-health sectors (e.g., little is known about the impacts of shelter or protection responses on refugee health). We thus aimed to explore FDMN perspectives on issues affecting their health to help inform health system responses to mass displacement in Cox’s Bazar. We conducted photo-elicitation interviews with 39 FDMN in Kutupalong and Balukhali camps. Each participant–researcher pair photographed three to five images of participants’ lived environment, then participants described each photograph and why chosen in interviews. We analysed data thematically.
Participants reflected daily difficulties and indignities, due to open sewerage and limited potable water, alongside health and safety risks (e.g., flimsy and insecure shelters, gas leaks), particularly for children, older people and those with special needs. Health services were reportedly basic and sometimes unfriendly. Participants advocated for health and safety improvements, providing photographic evidence of the risks they experienced daily. Photo-elicitation was valuable for visualising participants’ daily lives and provided participants with a means to advocate for improvements in undignified and risky living conditions. Interviews enabled articulation of perceived effects on physical and mental health and recurrent themes of ‘abandonment’, with limited services and few pathways for change. Highlighting Rohingya experiences can help identify ways to improve living conditions, services and well-being.
Published in: Medical Humanities
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