EU–UNFPA launch €1m health project for Rohingyas
New medical equipment aims to prevent maternal and newborn deaths among 180,000 Rohingya and host community members in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with the European Union’s Humanitarian Aid program, has delivered a new consignment of medical equipment to support maternal and newborn health for Rohingya refugees and surrounding communities in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district.
The shipment includes emergency obstetric and reproductive health kits, blood transfusion sets, and surgical instruments for critical procedures such as caesarean sections.
UNFPA said the supplies will reinforce services at the Friendship Field Hospital — the main referral center for all 33 refugee camps — which treats around 6,000 patients each month.
The consignment forms part of a €1 million EU-funded project aimed at strengthening reproductive health supply chains and ensuring uninterrupted access to essential care. While the broader initiative targets nearly 180,000 Rohingya refugees and members of host communities, this specific delivery is expected to directly benefit about 150,000 women and newborns in Cox’s Bazar and nearby areas.
“No woman should die giving life,” said UNFPA Representative Catherine Breen Kamkong, who led the handover ceremony alongside Bangladeshi officials. She described the partnership as “a vital step toward ensuring lifesaving care for mothers and newborns.”
According to the Maternal and Perinatal Mortality Surveillance and Response Report 2024, 46 maternal deaths were recorded in the camps last year — an improvement from previous years but with 3–5 still occurring monthly.
Davide Zappa, head of EU Humanitarian Aid in Bangladesh, emphasized the human rights dimension of maternal care. “Safe childbirth is not a privilege — it is a basic human right,” he said. “Reliable supply chains and timely emergency care are essential to saving lives.”
The initiative is part of UNFPA’s broader effort to bolster reproductive health preparedness under the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) across Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char in Noakhali, serving more than 300,000 women of reproductive age.
Officials said the assistance will enhance the resilience of healthcare facilities under pressure from one of the world’s largest refugee populations, providing a critical link between humanitarian support and long-term public health systems in Bangladesh.
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