Bangladesh Operational Update August August 2021 2021 COMMUNITY BASED AND LEGAL PROTECTION Refugee protection volunteers, including Community Outreach Members, imams and female religious continue to be the backbone of the response during lockdown. Among the main results of their activities were: 100,000 refugees reached through awarenes campaigns on COVID-19, monsoon and cyclone preparedness, child protection, hygiene, gender-based violence, and health. 6,000 home visits, reaching some 13,300 refugees and identifying 5,560 persons with specific needs who were referred to service providers accordingly. Some 50,000 refugees – almost 50 percent girls and women - supported through 323 service projects, ranging from cleaning campaigns to infrastructure repairs. 488 shelters from extremely vulnerable individuals repaired. 317 were women led households. 100,000 calls sharing pre-recorded recommendation messages were made through the Interactive Voice Response project. Among the main needs and gaps identified, is the lack of access to remote support and activities of female refugee volunteers, due to lack of mobiles and connectivity. Also, face to face support and feedback mechanisms are still extremely limited, reflected in the 2,700 calls received by the Information Service Centres. GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND CHILD PROTECTION An online session on prevention and response to human trafficking was conducted for 40 participants and two “train the trainer” sessions took place, aimed at mitigating child protection risks by improving identification and referral skills for more than 70 community volunteer supervisors (50 percent women) who will in turn transfer the knowledge to outreach volunteers improving services and enhancing prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. 150 individuals from government institutions and protection agencies joined a webinar led by UNHCR and UNICEF on Child Protection Minimum Standards to ensure preparedness, prevention, mitigation, and response to Sexual and Gender-based Violence. Despite remote case management efforts, challenges remain as many requests for in-person counselling and legal assistance, are pending. CASH-BASED INTERVENTIONS 5,000 out of 15,000 extremely vulnerable Bangladeshis residing in Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Kutubdia and Moheshkhali identified by the District Administration based on their increased needs due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, received a one-off cash transfer from UNHCR, during an event hosted by the Deputy Commissioner. An additional 10,000 individuals will receive support in the coming months. 2