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Over one million Rohingya refugees crowd into Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, where 120,000 people with disabilities face a double barrier: displacement and digital exclusion. The Bangladesh government’s ban on SIM card ownership for refugees has severed their connection to the outside world, cutting off access to healthcare information, educational resources, and family networks that could mean the difference between isolation and survival.
Digital Ban Compounds Physical Barriers
The 12% of camp residents living with disabilities already navigate overcrowded conditions with limited accessible infrastructure. Without phone connectivity, a wheelchair user can’t call for medical assistance during emergencies. A person with visual impairments can’t access audio information about food distribution schedules. These connectivity gaps turn manageable challenges into insurmountable walls, particularly for refugees with disabilities who rely heavily on communication networks to coordinate care and support.
Phone Credit as Lifeline
Mobile phones represent more than communication devices in refugee camps—they’re survival tools. Refugees with disabilities use phones to contact healthcare providers, access translated medical information, and maintain connections with support networks. CFH’s mobile credit distribution directly addresses this gap, ensuring that displaced people with disabilities can maintain these critical digital connections despite government restrictions on SIM ownership.
When digital exclusion meets disability discrimination, the result is profound isolation. Mobile credit breaks through both barriers simultaneously. Apply for support if you’re a refugee with disabilities needing connectivity assistance.