Charity opens Dh3M hospital for Rohingya

sharjah — A Sharjah-based humanitarian organisation on Friday inaugurated a Dh3-million, 100-bed hospital for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh. It is expected to serve 7,200 beneficiaries in its first year.

It has been built by The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) in collaboration with the Medicines Sans Frontieres — Doctors without Borders, aiming to provide ‘round-the-clock healthcare to about 140,000 displaced Rohingya, including a sizeable number of infants and young children. The Sharjah Media Corporation had raised the fund for the project earlier this year.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, humanitarian envoy of TBHF, and chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, inaugurated the facility in Kutupalong camp.

The hospital is equipped with intensive care units, paediatric and maternity wards, mobile clinics, and other units including support services for sexual assault victims — all run by a medical team from Doctors without Borders. The medical facility houses a water purification system, which will cater not just to patients but to the area’s residents exposed to water-borne disease outbreaks such as cholera, bloody diarrhoea, typhoid and others.

It is also equipped with hitech warning systems to detect infectious diseases and control outbreaks. Emergency tools and teams are ready to respond to epidemiological conditions or natural disasters.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed said: “The Rohingya refugees are among the most suffering communities anywhere in the world today. With the inauguration of this hospital, we have extended the compassion to several in dire need.”