Rohingya community health workers described health needs, referral challenges and the pressures facing frontline services as a US Congressional staff delegation visited the refugee camps and met humanitarian officials.
by RK Desk
Cox’s Bazar, 27 August 2026: A delegation of staff members from the United States Congress visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday, meeting Rohingya community health workers and discussing the continuing humanitarian crisis.
During the camp visit, community health workers spoke with the delegation about health conditions facing Rohingya families and the difficulties refugees experience in accessing medical services, according to information provided to Rohingya Khobor.
The health workers described their role as a link between refugees and health facilities, including providing basic health information, identifying people who may need treatment, referring patients to clinics and helping families understand available services.
They also discussed the needs of children, older people, women and other vulnerable members of the community.
The meeting provided an opportunity for Rohingya frontline workers to speak directly about conditions inside the camps rather than having the health situation presented only through humanitarian agencies and official institutions.
Health Services Under Growing Pressure
The visit comes as healthcare services in the camps face increasing pressure from declining humanitarian funding.
Recent RRRC figures show that the number of health facilities in the Rohingya response has fallen from 168 in 2021 to 118, while the number of health workers has declined from more than 5,200 to around 3,500.
Healthcare funding also fell from about $81 million in 2021 to $49.9 million in 2025, even as the Rohingya population increased significantly.
The densely populated camps continue to face risks from infectious diseases, malnutrition and other health problems, making community-based health workers an important part of prevention, referrals and communication between families and medical facilities.
Delegation Also Meets RRRC
The Congressional staff delegation also visited the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, where it met RRRC Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.
According to the RRRC, discussions covered the wider Rohingya humanitarian crisis, conditions inside the camps, humanitarian assistance and prospects for the safe, voluntary and sustainable return of Rohingya to Myanmar.
The delegation included staff members working for members of both the US House of Representatives and Senate-related policy offices.
Among them were Noelle Dana, Senior Legislative Assistant to Representative Ryan MacKenzie; Robert Sar, Legislative Director to Representative Stephanie Bice; Ryan Carreiro, Legislative Assistant to Representative Marlin Stutzman; Torie Cox, National Security Analyst at the Senate Republican Policy Committee; Sarah Jacobs, Legislative Director to Representative Madeleine Dean; Maiesha Hossain, National Security Legislative Aide to Senator Chris Van Hollen; and Marshele Bryant, Legislative Director to Representative Maxwell Frost.
They were accompanied by Nancy Jackson and Jessie Ainslie from UNHCR’s Multi-Country Office in Washington, DC.
The delegation’s visit was scheduled as part of a wider assessment of conditions in the camps and programmes supported by international funding. RRRC officials had earlier said the delegation would review how US-supported humanitarian programmes were operating.
For Rohingya community health workers, the visit offered a rare opportunity to explain directly how shrinking services and persistent health needs affect families at the camp level.
As humanitarian resources decline, their accounts highlight why decisions about future funding should include the experiences of Rohingya who work directly with patients and communities every day.
