Nearly one million Rohingya people were forced to flee Myanmar following the eruption of brutal communal violence in August 2017. Seeking safety, they crossed into neighboring Bangladesh, where they remain stranded in overcrowded, makeshift camps. More than eight years later, they are still unable to return home. The majority are women, children, and the elderly – vulnerable individuals in urgent need of food, clean water, shelter, and basic medical care. With resources from the Bangladeshi government and the United Nations stretched thin, local and international NGOs have stepped in to meet urgent humanitarian needs.
IMANA has been on the ground since the beginning of the crisis, deploying medical teams in close partnership with local organizations. Despite a brief suspension of international volunteer deployments and clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic, our clinics continued to provide free, essential healthcare to Rohingya refugees year-round with the assistance of local healthcare workers and our partners.