The US on Thursday (May 9) announced a new assistance fund of $30.5 million for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh amid a growing call for fresh funding to meet their needs.

Ambassador Jeffrey Prescott, the US representative to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture, announced the new fund after visiting Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar, according to the US Embassy in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

Washington is providing funds through the State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration, as well as USAID, for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bhasan Char Island and the wider area.

“This funding includes lifesaving support for healthcare, nutrition, clean water and shelter, as well as support for self-reliance initiatives to help ease reliance on humanitarian assistance,” it added.

Prescott is on a visit to Bangladesh to observe the US government’s food security, agriculture and humanitarian assistance activities in the country.

A sharp decline in resources led to a reduction in the value of World Food Programme food vouchers in 2023. In March, the voucher value for refugees was reduced from $12 to $10. A further reduction — down to $8 — was implemented in June, according to the WFP. However, it started to restore its critical food assistance from 1 January, with a monthly food voucher from $8 to $10 per person.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called in a meeting on Tuesday with the visiting International Organisation for Migration Director General Amy Pope for new sources of funding for Rohingya to be identified, as the funds available continue to dwindle.

The majority of Rohingya living in Bangladesh fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine, Myanmar in 2017. Israeli weapons were reported to have been used in the genocide.

Most of the refugees are housed in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, but since late 2020 about 35,000 have been relocated to the island of Bhasan Char. The island emerged from the Bay of Bengal in 2006 and is about 30 kilometres (21 miles) from the mainland.

Source: Middle East Monitor

BDST: 1347 HRS, MAY 10, 2024
MN