More than three years since the emergency officially began, the systematic persecution of the Rohingya people continues. Now more than 860,000 Rohingya refugees live in Cox’s Bazar in southeast Bangladesh, crowded into 26 kilometres of land, dependent on aid, and with a future that appears bleak.

Across Bangladesh, the number of people suffering from COVID-19 has climbed persistently since March, with more than 149,000 cases reported. 

For patients in the paediatric ward at Goyalmara, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)’s mother and child hospital in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, COVID-19 is causing significant issues with accessing routine health care.

How are refugees and other displaced people being impacted by, and enduring, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and how is Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) responding in these communities?

Across Cox´s Bazar, Bangladesh, nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. As COVID-19 spreads through one of the most densely populated countries in the world, there are five key challenges to overcome.

The work of our midwives, ensuring high quality care and continuity of care, is too often unsung. On International Day of the Midwife 2020, we recognise their pivotal role.

As the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is unfolding, our teams are working in more than 70 countries around the world, providing urgent medical care for people fleeing violence, mothers giving birth and children needing treatment for measles or malnutrition. From the conflict in Syria to the continued displacement of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, these are some of the crises we must not forget in the time of Covid-19.