When hundreds of thousands of terrified Rohingya refugees began flooding onto the beaches and paddy fields of southern Bangladesh six months ago, it was the children — who made up nearly sixty per cent of their number — that caught many people’s attention.
The babies carried in the arms of siblings little older than themselves; the frightened toddlers clutching at the clothing of their exhausted parents; and the tiny graves of those who didn’t survive the journey.
By any definition, this extraordinary exodus – quickly dubbed the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian emergency – was a children’s crisis. Yet the images only told part of the story.
Back in Myanmar, an estimated half million Rohingya remain largely sealed off in their communities and displacement camps, fearful that the violence and horror that had driven so many of their relatives and neighbours to flee would engulf them too.
Today, there are an estimated 720,000 Rohingya children in southern Bangladesh and Myanmar’s Rakhine State, in dire need of humanitarian assistance and protection – and looking to the outside world for help.
In Bangladesh, aid efforts led and overseen by a Government – and local communities – who have been unstinting in their generosity have averted disaster. But with the cyclone season looming, urgent efforts – and funding — are necessary to shield the fragile refugee encampments from the forces of nature, and to preserve the services on which so many children depend.
In Myanmar, the scale of the challenge remains unclear. Only with unimpeded access to all parts of Rakhine State can UNICEF and other humanitarian partners meet the essential protection, health and other needs of the Rohingya who stayed behind. And without a permanent end to the violence, still more desperate refugees will continue to make their way towards Bangladesh.
But a lasting solution requires more: the recognition of the basic rights of the Rohingya population – ending the legislation, policies and practices that discriminate against them; and curbing the tensions between the different communities in Rakhine State.
Such was the wise recommendation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission headed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, when it submitted its report last year. The Commission called for urgent investment in schools, health services and other basic services in Rakhine State, one of Myanmar’s poorest states that would benefit all communities living there.
It is also the means by which the necessary conditions can be established to allow the return of the Rohingya refugees to their former homes. A voluntary, safe and dignified return process cannot place children or their families in danger, nor force returning families into camps. Rohingya who return must have freedom of movement, and access to essential services.
For its part, the Government of Bangladesh can help secure the fundamental rights of Rohingya children by registering all those born in the country, and by granting refugee status to all Rohingya children and their families.
The United Nations and the rest of the humanitarian community will play their full part in all this. Alongside our partners, UNICEF is on the ground in both Myanmar and Bangladesh, delivering life-saving assistance including nutrition and health services, safe water and sanitation, protection services and support to education.
In Bangladesh, we’ve dug hundreds of water bore wells, and installed thousands of latrines. Some 900,000 adults and children have been vaccinated against cholera, and campaigns to protect children against diphtheria and measles have achieved strong results. Learning and child friendly spaces are offering traumatised children the chance to begin healing.
A great deal has been achieved since August 2017. But much, much more must be done to protect an outcast population, and tackle the complex roots of this crisis before its painful repercussions spread further still, and condemn a generation of Rohingya children to a perpetual life in limbo.

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As part of a series highlighting the challenges faced by children in current crisis situations, this UNICEF Child Alert focuses on the urgent efforts needed to help the Rohingya children and their families. It presents UNICEF’s urgent calls on the Bangladesh and Myanmar governments, and the international community, to safeguard the rights of all children affected by this crisis.