UNHCR appeals for more funds to aid Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has called for more funds for the Rohingya people with only 26 percent of the UN’s Joint Response Plan for the refugees in Bangladesh funded.

To address the ongoing and increasing needs, the UN launched a Joint Response Plan in March, urging $951 million to provide the refugees and host communities with life-saving assistance.

Since late August 2017, widespread and systematic violence against Myanmar’s mainly-Muslim minority Rohingya has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in Rakhine State and seek refuge across border in Bangladesh.

As of May 24, according to the UN, there are an estimated 905,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar.

The UNHCR said in a statement on Thursday it is grateful for the generous support of state and private donors so far, but said more funds are urgently needed to support refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for “greater international support and solidarity” for the nearly one million Rohingya refugees and their Bangladeshi hosts at conclusion of his visit to the country this week.

The high commissioner travelled to Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar together with UN Secretary General António Guterres, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem to rally support for what was the world’s fastest-growing refugee emergency in 2017.

Starting on Sunday, the UN principals met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

They thanked the government and the people of Bangladesh for their response, protection and shelter for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.

They discussed the continued support of the international community for refugees and the Bangladeshi communities hosting them.

“In a world in which borders are closing down in front of people seeking asylum, Bangladesh has generously kept its borders open to Rohingya refugees. This is a lesson in humanity to many other countries in the world that are doing exactly the opposite,” the high commissioner said.

On Monday, the delegation travelled to Cox’s Bazar where they met Rohingya refugees living at the Kutupalong site – the world’s largest refugee settlement.

“We are continuing to run an emergency response which has been compounded by the urgency of reinforcing shelters and relocating people during the monsoon,” High Commissioner Grandi said while emphasising the need to also address medium-term issues for the refugees and host community after rains end.

Extending his Bangladesh tour, he visited an integrated primary health centre and a learning centre for children at the Kutupalong settlement, and met refugee volunteers involved in community outreach.