Samaritan's Purse is providing expert medical care to suffering Rohingya children and adults.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees have streamed into Bangladesh from Myanmar. Our Disaster Assistance Response Team is on the ground to help in Jesus' Name.
Diphtheria is spreading among the more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees crammed into Kutupalong camp—one of the largest refugee camps in the world. We opened a Diphtheria Treatment Center in Kutupalong on Dec. 31 and have seen more than 3,400 people, with nearly 700 admitted for diphtheria. With proper treatment, people gasping for breath upon admittance can be fully recovered in a day or two.
Although diphtheria can be treated with antibiotics, more critical situations require administering diphtheria antitoxin by IV. We have treated more than 200 patients with the antitoxin.
Our 70-bed center was constructed in just a few weeks and is the only diphtheria center for the southern half of the refugee camp. Most of our patients are children, who are prone to more serious cases of the disease.
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In addition, Samaritan’s Purse has also supplied personnel and equipment to increase the capacity of Memorial Christian Hospital, where Rohingya refugees are receiving surgical care not available in the camps. Our DC-8 aircraft arrived in Bangladesh on Dec. 7 to deliver 20 tons of surgical equipment and medical supplies to Memorial Christian, one of our longtime partner hospitals. We also provided funding for the construction of two wards for the hospital’s Rohingya Care Unit.