Humanitarian agencies operating in Cox’s Bazar urgently need US $77 million to assist the people who have fled violence in Myanmar, the United Nations says.
“The rapid movement of people across the border has put massive strain on existing camps and settlements, and on the host communities who are supporting the new arrivals,” the UN Dhaka office said in a statement on Saturday.
Since Aug 25, an estimated 290,000 people are believed to have crossed the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh.
New settlements have been formed and are expanding rapidly, but people there have little access to basic services.
The Response Plan, developed as a result of the influx of people to Cox’s Bazar, outlines the life-saving support UN agencies and international NGOs are aiming to provide to 300,000 people until the end of 2017.
Efforts by the government of Bangladesh to meet the needs of those who have crossed to Cox’s Bazar are already being supported by humanitarian agencies that are providing shelter, health, water and sanitation, food, nutrition, and education assistance, as well as support to ensure the safety and dignity of new arrivals.
The $77 million requested by the new plan will allow agencies to scale up their response to meet the rapidly growing needs of the new arrivals. – bdnews24.com
