The European Union has committed a new €32 million (Tk 304 Crore) fund responding to the needs of Rohingyas and their host community in Cox’s Bazar.
Bangladesh is giving shelter to over 1.1 million Rohingyas who fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The EU is one the key donors to support the Bangladesh government.
On Thursday, it said €12 million of the new fund will be dedicated to COVID-19 responses.
The rest, €20 million, will address the needs of both host communities and Rohingya through an integrated approach on improved access to basic services in education, food security and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and enhance their resilience and protection.
The €20 million action also includes a complementary small cross-border operation worth €1 million to enhance conflict sensitivity and mutual understanding among CSOs assisting the refugee, IDP and host communities on the other side of the border.
“All EU-funded activities will address important cross-cutting issues such as Protection of Girls and Women, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), and psychosocial support,” it said in a statement.
“The € 32 million funding is an important contribution to Bangladesh’s continuous generosity and humanity in hosting Rohingya that fled neighbouring Myanmar”, Ambassador of the EU in Dhaka Rensje Teerink was quoted as saying.
“It is part of the Team Europe global response to COVID-19 in the country with a specific component to support the needs of both Bangladeshi Host Communities of Cox’s Bazar and Rohingya in the camps to address the crisis worsened by the pandemic”, she added.
The funding contributes to the 2030 Agenda's call to ‘leave no one behind’, in line with the Strategic Objectives of the UN Joint Response Plan 2020 including the current COVID19 challenges.
It promotes a comprehensive, development-led response to forced displacement, in line with EU policy and the Team Europe global response to COVID-19. The actions will be implemented by UNHCR, UNICEF and UNOPS.
