UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Monday welcomed the European Union’s renewed support of EUR 6.2 million for the Rohingya and host community in Bangladesh.
The contribution will come through DG ECHO, the Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department of the European Commission, which will support UNHCR’s continued protection and assistance of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.
DG ECHO remains one of UNHCR’s key donors for humanitarian aid to the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh, said a UNHCR Dhaka news release.
"ECHO’s contribution enables us to provide quality protection and humanitarian assistance in a coordinated and accountable manner," said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh.
"As the humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar is entering its sixth year, the sustained support of the European Union to UNHCR’s activities in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char remains invaluable," UNHCR official added.
"Nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh continue to live in dire conditions and require our unwavering support, particularly when it comes to protection," said Anna Orlandini, who oversees EU humanitarian programmes in Bangladesh.
"This contribution to UNHCR will ensure that refugees, particularly the most vulnerable and at risk, are provided with adequate and meaningful protection services to improve their safety, dignity and wellbeing," Orlandini added.
This contribution from ECHO, one of UNHCR’s essential partners and largest donors globally, will support monitoring of refugees’ safety and well-being, and any potential risks, while ensuring refugees’ access to legal assistance, strengthening of prevention and response to gender-based violence, access for children to protection and assistance services.
Five years after being forced to flee violence and atrocities in Myanmar, over 910,000 Rohingya refugees are currently hosted in Bangladesh, in densely populated camps in Cox’s Bazar, with an additional 30,000 refugees residing in Bhasan Char.
