EU announces nearly $3-million aid for Rohingyas in Bangladesh
Dhaka, Nov 10 (EFE).- The European Union committed roughly $3 million on Thursday to help protect and aid Rohingya refugees living on the isolated Bangladeshi island of Bhasan Char.
The announcement was made at a ceremony attended by EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Cox’s Bazar office chief Ita Schuettem, and Bangladesh deputy minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md. Enamur Rahman.
Johansson arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to discuss future cooperation and support for Rohingya refugees.
She met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and senior government officials, including ministers, on the first day of her visit.
UNCHR welcomed the EU contribution to Rohingyas, saying it would support interventions to ensure refugees, especially children, and vulnerable people, were protected from exploitation and abuse.
“Refugees will also benefit from the provision of essential health services, including psychosocial support, and programmes for the prevention of acute malnutrition,” a UNHCR statement said.
The EU remains one of the essential partners and largest donors globally of the UN Agency and supports the Rohingya response in Bangladesh.
UNHCR had appealed for $285 million for its work in Bangladesh for 2022.
As of Oct.25, the organization received nearly $140 million, which is 49 percent of the requirement, an agency official told EFE.
Out of that, UNHCR received $9.6 million from the EU.
This figure excludes the 3 million euros ($2.98 million) announced on Thursday, said the official.
According to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis Joint Response Plan 2022, different organizations supporting Rohingyas in Bangladesh have received $377 million – just 42.8 percent of the total requirement of $881 million.
Bangladesh is home to over 925,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled neighboring Myanmar, including around 774,000 who escaped after the military launched a military campaign in 2017 described as ethnic cleansing and possible genocide by the United Nations.
In recent months some 28,000 Rohingya refugees have been relocated to Bhasan Char, a previously uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal. EFE
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