Urgent need for rohingya refugees

Humanitarian agencies call for $77m

Humanitarian agencies operating in Cox’s Bazar urgently need $77 million (about Tk 628 crore) to assist Rohingyas who had to flee the ongoing atrocities of the Myanmar security forces in the country’s Rakhine State that borders Bangladesh. 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, according to a media statement forwarded by the office of the United Nations resident coordinator yesterday.

Since August 25, an estimated 290,000 people are believed to have crossed the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh, tripling the Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar in two weeks, it said.

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. New settlements have formed and are expanding rapidly. However, people in these sites have little access to basic services.

The ‘Response Plan’, developed as a result of the influx of Rohingyas to Cox’s Bazar, outlines the life-saving support UN agencies and international NGOs are aiming to provide 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, according to the statement.  

“With the movement of people showing no signs of stopping, it is vital that agencies working in Cox’s Bazar have the resources they need to provide emergency assistance to incredibly vulnerable people who have been forced to flee their homes and have arrived in Bangladesh with nothing,” UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh Robert Watkins said.

“Before this latest crisis, agencies were already working on the ground, but the influx has overwhelmed the services that were in place. To support the new arrivals there is now an urgent need for 60,000 new shelters, as well as food, clean water and health services, including specialist mental health services and support for survivors of sexual violence,” he said.

To support the implementation of the Response Plan, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $ 7 million. This will allow agencies to provide life-saving assistance to an estimated 75,000 people in the three new spontaneous settlements where new arrivals have limited or no access to humanitarian assistance, and the most vulnerable new arrivals who have settled in the two formal registered camps.

 

Urgent need for rohingya refugees

Humanitarian agencies call for $77m

Humanitarian agencies operating in Coxs Bazar urgently need $77 million (about Tk 628 crore) to assist Rohingyas who had to flee the ongoing atrocities of the Myanmar security forces in the countrys Rakhine State that borders Bangladesh. 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, according to a media statement forwarded by the office of the United Nations resident coordinator yesterday. Since August 25, an estimated 290,000 people are believed to have crossed the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh, tripling the Rohingya population in Coxs Bazar in two weeks, it said. 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. New settlements have formed and are expanding rapidly. However, people in these sites have little access to basic services. The Response Plan, developed as a result of the influx of Rohingyas to Coxs Bazar, outlines the life-saving support UN agencies and international NGOs are aiming to provide 300,000 people until the end of 2017. Efforts by the government of Bangladesh to meet the needs of those who have crossed to Coxs 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, according to the statement. With the movement of people showing no signs of stopping, it is vital that agencies working in Coxs Bazar have the resources they need to provide emergency assistance to incredibly vulnerable people who have been forced to flee their homes and have arrived in Bangladesh with nothing, UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh Robert Watkins said. Before this latest crisis, agencies were already working on the ground, but the influx has overwhelmed the services that were in place. To support the new arrivals there is now an urgent need for 60,000 new shelters, as well as food, clean water and health services, including specialist mental health services and support for survivors of sexual violence, he said. To support the implementation of the Response Plan, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $ 7 million. This will allow agencies to provide life-saving assistance to an estimated 75,000 people in the three new spontaneous settlements where new arrivals have limited or no access to humanitarian assistance, and the most vulnerable new arrivals who have settled in the two formal registered camps.