Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh hosts over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees living in basic conditions, making it one of the world’s most densely populated humanitarian settings, according to WHO. Public health challenges there are shaped not only by disease, but also by the environments in which people live in. In this context, access to healthcare is not only a service delivery challenge, but a coordination challenge, requiring aligned priorities, shared evidence, and collective action across partners.  

Coordinating a health response in a complex and resource-constrained setting 

As a Health Cluster Support Officer with WHO, RedR Australia roster member Rebeca supports coordination across partners delivering health services for the Rohingya population and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, aligning efforts under the Cluster Strategy and the 2026 Joint Response Plan.  

“What I find most meaningful is contributing to coordination that helps protect essential health services in a complex humanitarian setting.” Rebeca explains. “Supporting the WHO-led Health Cluster, particularly in a context of reduced funding, demonstrated how evidence-based, data-driven prioritization and strong coordination across partners can sustain life-saving interventions for the Rohingya population.” 

Working closely with the Health Cluster Coordinator, Information Management Officer, and health partners, her role focuses on aligning priorities and strengthening evidence-based decision-making across the response.  

“Effective coordination depends on continuous dialogue, and the ability to bring partners together around shared evidence and objectives.”  

From data to decision-making 

Coordination is not only about convening partners, but also about enabling prioritisation.  

“Coordination requires both analytical thinking and human skills, she says. “Knowing when to push for prioritization and when to create space for dialogue. “  

By grounding discussions and decisions in data, while maintaining a strong understanding of operational realities, Rebeca supports the Health Cluster Coordinator and health partners in moving from information to action.

A coordination approach shaped by diverse experience 

Rebeca’s background across project and inter-agency coordination, marketing and risk communication and community engagement (RCCE), shaped how she approached her work in Cox’s Bazar, ensuring coordination remains grounded in the realities and needs of the affected populations.

In her previous deployment with RedR Australia as the RCCE Specialist in Timor-Leste, Rebeca focused on raising awareness of rabies and promoting behavior change through community engagement. 

While the scale and focus differ, both roles are connected by a common objective: protecting public health through informed decision-making and coordinated action.   

“In Timor-Leste, the work was hands-on and community-facing, focused on driving behaviour change. In Bangladesh, the work is more system-focused, ensuring that partners, resources, and priorities are aligned.” says Rebeca.  

“However, both roles require navigating complexity and uncertainty. What remains consistent is the reward of seeing how coordinated efforts, whether at the community or system level, contribute to meaningful public health outcomes.” 

Reflections from the field 

Rebeca believes humanitarian work operates at its best where complexity meets consequence, where decisions directly affect people’s lives. 

“Humanitarian work operates where complexity meets consequence,” she says. “It is about ensuring that, even in crisis, systems remain responsive and individuals continue to access the care they need, while also having the information and understanding required to protect their health.” 

Her experience in Cox’s Bazar reinforces a key lesson: in protracted crises, coordination is not a background function, it is a critical enabler of impact.  

“This deployment reminded me that in protracted crises with shrinking resources, strong coordination and data-driven prioritisation are what allow us to protect essential and lifesaving health services.” 

 
Read more about the work of RedR Australia including Rebeca’s previous deployment in Timor-Leste