Rohingya crisis

FAO alarmed by ‘overlooked’ emergency in Bangladesh

A mere 15pc of the appealed $9.8m for Rohingyas met

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has sounded alarm on ‘overlooked’ emergencies in many countries including Bangladesh, which is facing devastating Rohingya crisis. In a report published yesterday, FAO said that Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Haiti and the Sahel are among most severely underfunded crises that require urgent humanitarian aid. Without adequate funding, new challenges such as droughts, floods, lean seasons or conflicts could push millions of people into acute hunger and food insecurity, jeopardising their well-being, lives and future, it warned.

Regarding Bangladesh, the report identified severe effect of monsoon and related the impact with the ongoing Rohingya crisis. With the monsoon season underway, urgent action is required to protect and restore forests to reduce the associated risk of flooding and landslides and protect the lives and livelihoods of local host communities and Rohingyas from Myanmar.

The priorities areas in relation to Bangladesh identified are mitigation of environmental impacts and reduction of disaster risk, support livelihoods and markets and strengthen food security sector.

Since the launch of the Joint Response Plan ((JRP) in March to face the Rohingya crisis, FAO has so far received only $1.5 million (15.4 per cent) of the appealed $9.8 million, leaving a funding gap of $84.5 per cent ($8.3 million).

Without urgent support to the agriculture-based livelihoods, there is a real risk of the situation further deteriorating in these affected areas in the second half of 2018, with rising hunger and humanitarian needs, the UN agency warned, adding that in some of these countries, funding received for livelihood-based humanitarian action has not come close to matching needs. For these critically underfunded crises, FAO urgently requires $120 million to reach 3.6 million people in the remainder of the year.

“We want to highlight critical needs in these underfunded crises where our resources to act are currently extremely limited,” said Dominique Burgeon, FAO director for emergency and rehabilitation division.

“We must ensure that no one is left behind. We need to act now to provide urgent food security and livelihood interventions to save people's lives, safeguard livelihoods and strengthen their resilience in the face of future crises,” he said.

“With the support of our resource partners, we can help to avert a further deterioration of food security in some of the most neglected crises in 2018,” he added.

Overall, FAO has received less than 30 per cent of the $1 billion requested at the beginning of the year to meet the urgent needs of 33 million people worldwide. For some crises, FAO has received as little as 6 per cent of requirements, leaving millions at risk of acute hunger.

Rohingya crisis

FAO alarmed by overlooked emergency in Bangladesh

A mere 15pc of the appealed $9.8m for Rohingyas met

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has sounded alarm on overlooked emergencies in many countries including Bangladesh, which is facing devastating Rohingya crisis. In a report published yesterday, FAO said that Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Haiti and the Sahel are among most severely underfunded crises that require urgent humanitarian aid. Without adequate funding, new challenges such as droughts, floods, lean seasons or conflicts could push millions of people into acute hunger and food insecurity, jeopardising their well-being, lives and future, it warned. Regarding Bangladesh, the report identified severe effect of monsoon and related the impact with the ongoing Rohingya crisis. With the monsoon season underway, urgent action is required to protect and restore forests to reduce the associated risk of flooding and landslides and protect the lives and livelihoods of local host communities and Rohingyas from Myanmar. The priorities areas in relation to Bangladesh identified are mitigation of environmental impacts and reduction of disaster risk, support livelihoods and markets and strengthen food security sector. Since the launch of the Joint Response Plan ((JRP) in March to face the Rohingya crisis, FAO has so far received only $1.5 million (15.4 per cent) of the appealed $9.8 million, leaving a funding gap of $84.5 per cent ($8.3 million). Without urgent support to the agriculture-based livelihoods, there is a real risk of the situation further deteriorating in these affected areas in the second half of 2018, with rising hunger and humanitarian needs, the UN agency warned, adding that in some of these countries, funding received for livelihood-based humanitarian action has not come close to matching needs. For these critically underfunded crises, FAO urgently requires $120 million to reach 3.6 million people in the remainder of the year. We want to highlight critical needs in these underfunded crises where our resources to act are currently extremely limited, said Dominique Burgeon, FAO director for emergency and rehabilitation division. We must ensure that no one is left behind. We need to act now to provide urgent food security and livelihood interventions to save peoples lives, safeguard livelihoods and strengthen their resilience in the face of future crises, he said. With the support of our resource partners, we can help to avert a further deterioration of food security in some of the most neglected crises in 2018, he added. Overall, FAO has received less than 30 per cent of the $1 billion requested at the beginning of the year to meet the urgent needs of 33 million people worldwide. For some crises, FAO has received as little as 6 per cent of requirements, leaving millions at risk of acute hunger.