The three most common child protection risks in Bangladesh are neglect, child marriage, and intrafamily conflicts. The difficult conditions of the crisis add stress to the situation. Camps are especially dangerous places for children and the existing conditions of precarity put a strain on families and individuals.

Child marriage, child labour, and violent discipline—including neglect and intrafamily conflicts—are the three most common child protection risks in Bangladesh. The difficult conditions of the crisis add stress to the situation, and camps are especially dangerous places for children. The existing conditions of Vulnerability put a strain on families and individuals.

About JF-CPiE in Bangladesh

The Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergency (JF-CPiE-1^st phase) or Joining Forces for Food Security and Child Protection in Emergencies (JF-FS & CPiE-2^nd phase) in Bangladesh is mainly focused on strengthening Child Protection mechanisms in the Rohingya and Host communities in Cox´s Bazar to reduce child protection related risks and incidents integrated with food security. The project is implemented by Plan International Bangladesh & World Vision Bangladesh in Rohingya Camps 17, 20 and 20E as well as 4 host communities in Ukhiya (Jaliapalong and Ratnapalong) and Teknaf (Baharchora and Teknaf Municipality) Upazila in 1^st phase (July’22-June’24). But for 2^nd phase (July’24-June’26) the implementing area is to Camps 1E, 1 W, 8E, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 20 extensions as well as 4 host communities in Ukhiya (Jaliapalong and Ratnapalong) and Teknaf (Baharchora and Teknaf Municipality) Upazila.

Project Duration & Goal

1st Phase

The duration of the project is 2 years (July’22-June’24). The JF-CPiE project in Bangladesh is part of a global consortia project implemented by six international organizations (Plan International (Lead), Save the Children, World Vision, Child Fund, SOS Kinderdörfer and TdH) across six countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Colombia, Ethiopia & South Sudan). The overall project is aimed at achieving the outcome “Improved protection of vulnerable girls, boys, adolescent girls, and adolescent boys (<18 years) through access to quality child protection prevention, mitigation, and response services and supports”.

2^nd Phase

The duration of the project is 2 years (July’24-June’26). The JF-FS-CPiE project in Bangladesh is part of a global consortia project implemented by six international organizations (Plan International (Lead), Save the Children, World Vision, Child Fund, SOS Kinderdörfer and TdH) across five countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Ethiopia & South Sudan). The overall project is aimed at achieving the outcome “Improved protection of girls and boys in emergency contexts through access to lifesaving, gender-sensitive, and inclusive child protection, food security, and nutrition-sensitive interventions”. 

Why Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies (JF-CPiE)? 

The Joining Forces for Food Security and Child Protection in Emergencies (JF-FS & CPiE) project is firmly rooted in the Strategy for Humanitarian Assistance Abroad, with Protection being a key strategic focus for the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO).

This new initiative is the continuation of the first GFFO-funded project, JF-CPiE, which successfully worked in six countries (including Bangladesh, Colombia, and South Sudan) to improve protection, prevention, and response services for vulnerable girls and boys (under 18) in crisis settings.

The JF-FS & CPiE project builds on this foundation by integrating a Food Security and Nutrition component alongside child protection interventions. This expansion is critical because the interlinkage between food insecurity and protection risks is highly detrimental to children; unmet basic needs, particularly food, pose a significant risk for violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

The overall project goal is the reduction of violence and exploitation by strategically leveraging food security programs to enhance children’s protection and wellbeing while minimizing harm. This collaborative approach between food security and child protection programming serves as a powerful strategy for informed, effective prevention and response.

JF-CPiE methodology

• Clearly state the mission and purpose of the project. 
• Explain the problem it aims to solve or the need it addresses. 
• Provide a step-by-step overview of how users can engage with the project. 

Key Outcomes 

Overall Project Outcome: Improved protection of girls and boys in emergency contexts through access to lifesaving, gender-sensitive, and inclusive child protection, food security, and nutrition-sensitive interventions. 

Output 1: (Individual level) Crisis-affected girls and boys in vulnerable situations, have improved their knowledge, skills, and capacities to protect themselves from violence, enhance their diets, and access protection and other specialized services.

Output 2: (Family Level) Caregivers and families have improved their ability to provide adequate care and prevent negative child protection coping mechanisms related to food insecurity that expose children to child protection risks.

Output 3: (Community Level) Community-based child protection mechanisms are supported to prevent potential harm against girls and boys, reduce and alleviate gender-related child protection risks, and strengthen access to community-based food security and nutrition services.

Output 4: (Institutional/societal level) Global, regional, and national-level humanitarian actors are equipped with strengthened advocacy, programmatic tools, capacity-strengthening, and evidence for integrated, gender-sensitive child protection and food security programming for child and adolescent wellbeing outcomes.

Current Situation in Project Region 

The Cox’s Bazar District remains a critical humanitarian zone due to the presence of nearly a million Rohingya refugees, which places significant strain on resources for both refugee and host communities.

A Joint Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (J-MSNA, Dec 2023) confirmed persistent needs in shelter, food security, health, and education, underscoring the urgent requirement for sustained international support. The most directly affected host communities in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas (approximately 537,900 Bangladeshis) experience a critical demographic imbalance due to the high concentration of refugees in the immediate area.

The region faces chronic issues of overcrowding, limited resources, and high vulnerability to natural disasters. Furthermore, food insecurity is directly linked to critical child protection concerns:

• Adolescent Girls face heightened risks of child trafficking, kidnapping, early marriage, criminal exploitation, and prostitution due to household poverty.

• Adolescent Boys face increased risks of child trafficking, engagement in armed gangs, and resorting to crime, including drug activities, to meet financial needs caused by food shortage.

This internal crisis is exacerbated by external conflicts and instability. The war in Myanmar has led to increased tensions and raises the expectation of further refugee influx. Local political instability also contributes to a critical environment. Coupled with the general expansion of global crises, Bangladesh faces a worsening national food insecurity trend, projected to affect over 19 million people by 2025.

Humanitarian Needs in Bangladesh

As mentioned above, Cox’s Bazar is one of 20 districts in Bangladesh considered to be ‘lagging behind’ the national average for development indicators, with approximately 33% of the population living below the poverty line compared to the national average of 31.5%. About 32.2% of households have access to electricity, compared to the national average of 56.5%, and 11.8% of households do not have access to toilets and practice open defecation, compared to the national average of 7.7%. Further, 78.5% of Cox’s Bazar’s is rural, and most communities live in remote areas. As like as other coastal districts in Bangladesh, the frequency of natural disasters and impact of climate change hinders significant development progress.  Cox’s Bazar is diverse linguistically, ethnically, and religiously. In additional to Bangla, people in Cox’s Bazar speak Chittagonian, which is slightly similar to Rohingya.  More than 90% of Cox’s Bazar is Muslim and the district is considered culturally and religiously conservative compared to the rest of Bangladesh. The second most practiced religion is Hinduism (4% average), followed by Buddhism (2% average). The upazilas bordering the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are home to larger minority communities, most of whom are not Muslim.

Target Groups and Affected People 

More than 1 million people both Rohingya and host community are directly affected due to Rohingya Refugee influx. The inhabitants of camps, especially children, mothers and other vulnerable groups. Child protection concerns have increased in the camp, with the most reported child protection issues being child labour, neglect, child marriage, risk of trafficking. There are in dire need of quality preventive and curative health, nutrition, and sanitation services. There has also scarcity of diversified and nutritious food in the camp.

The shelters in the camp areas are small and often comprise of one room in a low bamboo structure encased in tarpaulin and weighed down by palm leaves and bricks on the roof. The encroaching bad weather means that the camps are prone to waterlogging and damp, meaning that firewood storage and cooking needs to be done inside the house, along with the general living. Groups of families often choose to live communally, allocating separate residences and representatives for duties such as cooking, childcare, sleeping and so on. This division of labour allows more to be made of the limited space and resources available.

According to J-MSNA 2023 (ISCG), the most commonly reported priority needs included shelter materials, access to food, access to income-generating activities (IGAs), access to safe and functional latrines, and electricity. Access to safe and functional latrines, and electricity were particularly important to HHs with female respondents, while HHs with male respondents more frequently identified access to food as one of their top three priority needs.

Evolution of Humanitarian Needs 

The Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs)—the Rohingya people—have faced decades of systematic discrimination, statelessness, and targeted violence in Rakhine state. Since 2017, persecution has forced Rohingya women, girls, boys, and men into Bangladesh. As of 30 November 2023, approximately one million Rohingya/FDMNs are residing in various congested camps and host communities in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. The Rohingya crisis is now one of the most significant and protracted humanitarian challenges in the world.

Children in these 32 congested camps are facing a multi-faceted crisis, including severe protection issues such as Child Early and Forced Marriage and Union, child labor, child pregnancy, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), trafficking, psychological distress, illiteracy/lack of education, and food insecurity/malnutrition. Furthermore, frequent fire incidents, landslides, recent unrest, and conflict among criminal and extremist groups have significantly deteriorated the security, making the environment unsafe and life-threatening.

Moreover, the UN Joint Response Plan (JRP) 2024 for Bangladesh identifies 1.5 million (Mio) people in need, targeting 1.35 million with a total appeal of $852 million (Mio). The JRP 2024 currently shows a coverage of only 27.6% ($235M funded), leaving a critical funding gap of over $616 million. UN OCHA financial tracking systems indicate that 43.6% of the total JRP funding is allocated to Food Security, while a disproportionately low 1.9% is designated for Child Protection. The WFP Bangladesh Country Brief (January 2024) notes that ongoing ration cuts have resulted in 94% of refugees reporting a deterioration in food and nutrition security. The April 2024 Country Brief further reveals that 31% of children aged 6–59 months suffer from chronic malnutrition. This critical evidence underscores the necessity of the proposed project, which is initiated considering the JRP and mandatory humanitarian needs, and is aligned with the CP actor mission of ensuring a better future for every child.

Child protection risks in Bangladesh

“The way of thinking of people here is very conservative. Here, the participants mentioned that people have a negative perception about girls’ school education.”

Adol, Camp 20, FGD with Girls, Plan International, consultant observation.

STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF CASH ON CHILD PROTECTION

This study confirms that Cash is being used effectively for children and their well-being. It also highlights the psychosocial benefits allowed by Cash interventions. In fact, families receiving financial support report reduced stress and improved mental health, which significantly contributes to a more nurturing home environment. Consistent and reliable financial aid helps establish a sense of security and continuity, crucial for the mental and emotional development of children.

Download the Study on the impact of cash on child protection
report now

For 1st phase In Bangladesh, Plan International works in Camps 17, 20 and 20E in Cox’s Bazar; Host community – Jaliapalong, Ratnapalong (Ukhiya) and Baharchora and Teknaf Municipality (Teknaf) and for 2nd phase in Camps- 17, 20 and 20 extensions in cox,s bazar; Host community – Jaliapalong and Ratnapalong, ukhiya, and Baharchora and Teknaf Municipality in Teknaf in the Chittagonj Division.

For 1st phase In Bangladesh, World Vision works in Camps 8E, 13, 15, 16 in Cox’s Bazar and in the Ratnapalong & Palongkhaliin host communities and for 2nd phase in Camps- 1E, 1 W, 8E, 13, 15, 16 in cox,s bazar; Host community – Jaliapalong and Ratnapalong in the Chittagonj Division.

CONTACT JF-FS&CPiE IN BANGLADESH

Arif Ahmed 
Communications Coordinator JF-CPiE 

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This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance.
Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance.