"Starting from 25 August 2017, targeted violence against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State, Myanmar, forced hundreds of thousands of people - mostly women and children - to flee their homes, reaching a total of 909,861 refugees as of 15 March 2019 1 and leading to what has been defined as one of the largest and the ‘fastest growing’ refugee crisis in the world2 . The Rohingya refugee crisis is a protection crisis, where refugees were forced to flee to Bangladesh to seek refuge from persecution, discrimination, gender-based violence and other serious human rights violations. The crisis has also a particular gendered nature, because of the significant number of women and girls now in the refugee camps who had experienced severe forms of abuses and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) while fleeing Myanmar. Many refugees have witnessed family members killed, sexually assaulted and abused or endured long separation and are in deep psychosocial distress. Additional risks and needs are placed onto them in displacement, as a result of the current living conditions, with one-third of refugee families having at least one specific protection vulnerability that requires specialized protection attention3 . Additionally, 55 percent of all refugees being children, the majority of whom do not have access to formal education, adding to their vulnerability as education is an essential protection factor. While the overall influx has significantly slowed since the onset of the crisis, in 2018 a total of 16,765 Rohingya refugees continued to cross into Bangladesh4. As of August 2018, at the peak of last year’s monsoon season, around 200,000 individuals were estimated to be at risk of landslides and floods, while an additional 49,000 were already affected in some way by weather-related incidents as a result of monsoon rains. Bangladesh is in fact prone to natural hazards and disasters, and camps are yearly exposed to two seasons at risk of cyclone in April-May and October-December, as well as the monsoon season from June to September when heavy rains further generate floods, flash-floods, water-logging and landslides. In coastal areas, particularly in Teknaf, storm surges also represent a significant threat. Fire is also a serious hazard across all camps, given the widespread presence of flammable materials, light construction materials used, high congestion and proximity of shelters. Considering the aforementioned risks, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and emergency preparedness and response (EPR) are key planning and programming priorities and must be integrated into regularly yearly humanitarian cycles, in order to effectively prevent exposure to further risk and protect girls, boys, women and men of different ages and diversity determinants. In support of the Government of Bangladesh and its people who welcomed the Rohingya refugees, opening their borders and their homes to them, the humanitarian community rapidly scaled up its operations to provide life-saving assistance and protection. The majority of refugees who arrived since August 2017 settled in camps in expansion areas adjacent to existing registered camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara, and makeshift settlements in Teknaf and Ukhia Upazilas. By the end of 2018, a total of 34 camps had been demarcated. An additional camp in Choukhali, in Northern Teknaf, is currently being developed. Severe congestion in most camps, especially in the Kutupalong Mega-camp (home to more than 600,000 refugees and divided into 23 camps) presents serious general and specific protection risks. As refugees spontaneously settled in these largely unplanned settlements, density is as high as 10m of land per person, compared to the international UNHCR emergency standard of 45m5 . Over-congestion and a difficult terrain, mainly constituted by steep slippery slopes and flood-prone low-lying areas, make it very challenging to improve refugees’ access to humanitarian services, in particular for those with impaired mobility and disabilities. As such, access and outreach of mobile teams and volunteers, as well as ensuring that vital information reaches all persons, in particular during cyclone and monsoon seasons, should be a key priority for all Sectors. Close proximity of shelters increases fire hazards and heightens the risks of spreading of communicable disease, should a weather-related emergency arise. Deforestation, including caused by collection of firewood, also exacerbates risks of landslides and flooding, and impairs a peaceful coexistence with the host community. These harsh conditions can also trigger or intensify psychosocial and mental distress, increase community tensions and prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and violence against children. In order to mitigate environmental risks, relocations to safer locations, structural improvement works and stabilization of the terrain, as well as the building of essential infrastructure for basic service provision were successfully carried out by SMSDS Agencies as much as possible. In 2018 and at the beginning of 2019, the humanitarian community strived to stabilize and improve the camp conditions; including in order to mitigate risks in the 2019 monsoon and cyclone seasons. However, the situation in most camps continues to pose serious challenges for mobility and physical protection from the natural elements, particularly during the monsoon season and is expected to severely worsen during a cyclone (i.e. non-permanent shelters and absence of cyclone safe shelters for the largest majority of the refugee population). Among the several lessons-learned and good practices from 2018, community based protection networks of volunteers have been established and have continued to work closely within the rest of the community. In this regard, women volunteers form a substantial part of the community networks and their inclusion and direct participation is crucial to an equitable and efficient mobilization and providing information related to the emergency linking them to existing static and mobile protection teams. It is within this historical background and operational context and based on the lessons-learnt from the 2018 emergency response, that the Protection Sector, jointly with its GBV and CP Sub-Sectors, is leading the cyclone emergency preparedness and response protection plans in 2019; with substantial support of the Sector Lead Agencies and in partnership with all protection partners..."