US to provide additional $47 million for Rohingya needs in Bangladesh

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has announced in Naypyidaw, Myanmar the United States will provide an additional $47 million in humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

This brings the total US assistance in Bangladesh for the refugee crisis to $83 million since August this year, the US embassy in Dhaka said on Thursday.

The US assistance goes to their international organisation partners on the ground, including the IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, and WFP, which help provide protection, emergency shelter, food and nutritional assistance, as well as health care and psychosocial support for the more than 600,000 displaced Rohingya from the Rakhine State.

This assistance is in addition to ongoing development assistance that also benefits host communities in Bangladesh, the embassy said.

“The humanitarian scale of this crisis is staggering.  Over 600,000 Rohingya, mostly women and children have fled to Bangladesh, and an unknown number remain internally displaced with limited access to food, water, and shelter,” Secretary Tillerson said while announcing the funding.

“The United States remains dedicated to humanitarian initiatives all over the world and is proud to distribute these funds as part of our ongoing efforts to help those who are suffering,” he said.