Media Advisory: United Nations Humanitarian Chief and UNICEF Executive Director to Visit Bangladesh

WHO: Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake

WHAT: Mission to Bangladesh

WHEN: 2-4 October 2017

WHERE: Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake will be on mission in Bangladesh from 2-4 October, during which they will also visit Cox’s Bazar on 2-3 October. The purpose of the joint mission is to see, first-hand, the devastating humanitarian situation of the Rohingya refugees.

Since late August, more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees, among them 60 per cent children, have arrived in Cox’s Bazar alone, marking the largest mass refugee movement in the region in decades. In Bangladesh, the total number of Rohingya refugees is now estimated to be well over 700,000 people.

The scale of the emergency has far surpassed initial projections.

The initial response plan, launched on 7 September, sought US$77 million to assist 300,000 people. As of 29 September, the plan has received $36.4 million, or 47 per cent, of the funding requirements for the coordinated response. Humanitarian partners are now revising the initial plan to account for the massive additional needs.

Mr. Lowcock and Mr. Lake will brief the media on the latest updates on the Rohingya refugee crisis, response and funding needs following their two-day mission to Cox’s Bazar at the Ocean Paradise Hotel in Cox’s Bazar town at 2:00 PM on 3 October.

For more details on this mission and for interview requests, please contact: