Funding crisis forces cutback in slope stabilisation work, leaving thousands at risk

Senoara Begum wakes with dread when the rains begin in the hills above Camp 20 in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya. Her bamboo and tarpaulin shelter clings to a hillside that has claimed dozens of Rohingya refugees in recent years. "There is nowhere safe to move," she said. "When agencies tell us to relocate, the place they suggest is far from our community, our neighbours, our familiar ground. We don't want to leave. But if the slopes were regularly maintained, the risk would reduce greatly."

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There is nowhere safe to move. When agencies tell us to relocate, the place they suggest is far from our community, our neighbours, our familiar ground. We don't want to leave. But if the slopes were regularly maintained, the risk would reduce greatly.

Thousands share Begum's fear. Across the sprawling refugee settlements in Ukhiya and Teknaf, hundreds of families reside on or below steep, deforested hillsides. These slopes, destabilized by intense human pressure, soften with each monsoon, leading to collapses. The UNHCR reports that between 2021 and 2026, landslides in the Cox's Bazar camps have killed 28 people and injured at least 80. This year alone has seen 12 deaths, making 2024 the deadliest year in this period, with two fatalities and ten injuries already recorded as the monsoon season begins.

Shari Nijman, a communications officer for UNHCR Bangladesh, stated, "Many vulnerable slopes remain without adequate stabilisation, increasing the exposure of refugee households and critical infrastructure to monsoon-related hazards." The agency attributes this increased danger to a severe funding crisis. Humanitarian partners have been forced to reduce essential risk-reduction efforts, such as slope stabilization, terracing, and drainage maintenance, to prioritize emergency food and protection aid.

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Many vulnerable slopes remain without adequate stabilisation, increasing the exposure of refugee households and critical infrastructure to monsoon-related hazards.

Relocating families from the most perilous hillside locations has long been a central challenge in camp management. The settlements are already among the most densely populated areas globally, leaving virtually no vacant land. Furthermore, many families resist moving, fearing the loss of their livelihoods, access to markets, and the community ties they have rebuilt since fleeing Myanmar in 2017. Salim Ullah, a resident of Camp 4, described the nightly paralysis that grips him when it rains: "When it rains, I am afraid. I stay awake wondering when the hill will come down. I live on the slope with my children. We are always frightened."

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When it rains, I am afraid. I stay awake wondering when the hill will come down. I live on the slope with my children. We are always frightened.