Duchess of Edinburgh visits Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, observes humanitarian programmes

Dhaka, Bangladesh || Thursday, 12 November 2026 || 27 Kartik 1433

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Duchess of Edinburgh visits Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, observes humanitarian programmes

Published : Thursday, 12 November, 2026 at 11:44 AM, Count : 32

Duchess of Edinburgh visits Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, observes humanitarian programmes

Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, a member of the British royal family and Duchess of Edinburgh, visited Rohingya refugee camps in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, on Tuesday to observe humanitarian programmes focusing on education, healthcare, protection and livelihood opportunities for women and children.

During the visit, she interacted with Rohingya children and learned about initiatives aimed at creating employment opportunities and developing skills among women and adolescent girls.

The Duchess began her tour at around 10:30am with a visit to a learning centre at Block B-1 of Camp 18. There, she received a briefing on educational activities for Rohingya children, their learning environment and the challenges they face.

She subsequently visited humanitarian programmes operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and a Women and Girls Safe Space.

Around noon, Sophie visited a soap factory at Camp 20, jointly operated by the IOM and PAILS. She learned about efforts to generate employment, develop technical skills and promote self-reliance among Rohingya and local women.

She observed different stages of soap production, including raw material mixing, manufacturing, cutting, quality testing and storage. Officials also briefed her on the factory's quality control procedures.

According to officials concerned, the factory produces around 15,000 bars of laundry and toilet soap daily. The products are distributed free of charge among Rohingya refugees through the IOM.

The factory also provides employment and technical training opportunities for Rohingya and local women and young people.

Later, the Duchess visited a multipurpose centre operated by UN Women at Camp 4, where she observed programmes supporting persons with disabilities, particularly women and children.

She was also briefed on the difficulties Rohingya women, children and adolescent girls face in accessing education, healthcare, protection and humanitarian assistance after years of displacement.

Officials said a key objective of her Bangladesh visit was to highlight the welfare, safety, empowerment and education of women and girls. She also sought to observe humanitarian initiatives for Rohingya refugees and gain insight into different aspects of humanitarian cooperation between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom.

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said local and international organisations were working to ensure protection, education and humanitarian assistance for women, children and persons with disabilities in the Rohingya camps.

He added that the Duchess visited several of these initiatives during her tour.

Sophie left the camp area for Cox's Bazar Airport at around 3:30pm.

She had previously visited Bangladesh in 2017 to express support for humanitarian assistance programmes for Rohingya refugees. Security measures were strengthened in and around the camps ahead of her latest visit.

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