Unavailability of funds makes crisis worse

One-third of $951m required for Rohingyas funded so far

The situation is as bad as it can be with regard to the ongoing Rohingya crisis which is affecting Bangladesh in a big way as apparently there is no progress in respect of the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of persecuted men, women and children, who had to cross into Cox’s Bazar to escape the unprecedented atrocities orchestrated by the Myanmar security forces, local Buddhist mobs and people from other ethnic groups in Rakhine.

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the beginning of the latest exodus of Rohingyas that saw arrival of over 7 lakh Rohingyas following a brutal crackdown on Rohingyas in Rakhine. According to different estimates, with this 7 lakh, 12 to 13 lakh Rohingya people are now living in Bangladesh.

Within this one year, nothing but talks took place in regards to the repatriation despite the signing of a deal. Furthermore, Rohingyas are still crossing the border into Bangladesh, which is a clear violation of the agreement signed on November 23, 2017 that states that the repatriation should have started by January 22.

Against such background, the unavailability of funds to look after these traumatised persecuted people is making things worse, officials of the government and international organisations including different United Nations branches have told The Independent.

Lack of adequate funding is ‘inevitably’ putting the lives of Rohingyas at risk, they feared.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), little over one-third of the appealed fund has so far been made available.

At the end of March in Geneva, a joint response plan was launched appealing for $951 million to take care of the Rohingyas till the end of December. But, in the last five months, only $319 million or 33.6 per cent, has been funded leaving $632 million unfunded.

The officials concerned have described the unavailability of fund despite repeated appeals as unfortunate and stressed the need for urgent actions by the donors to avert further deterioration of the situation.

Many sectors that are directly connected with life-saving support like food security, shelter, health and nutrition, are severely under-funded, they said.

“As of now, we are handling the situation in the best possible way we can. But, we need more money essentially,” said a senior official of a UN organisation.

“The donors have done a lot. We appreciate it. But, they have to do more,” he said. “The international community has assured of assistance and they will have to live up to their pledges,” said an official of another UN organisation.

“Bangladesh has already done enough. There should be no further burden on them,” he said.

“We are aware of the lack of progress in terms of funding. It should not happen,” a top government official said.

“At the onset of the crisis, we were assured repeatedly that money will not be a problem to look after the persecuted people. We do hope things will get better in the coming days,” he said, adding, “Heavens forbid, a single death owing to the lack of fund will be the last thing we want.”

Unavailability of funds makes crisis worse

One-third of $951m required for Rohingyas funded so far

The situation is as bad as it can be with regard to the ongoing Rohingya crisis which is affecting Bangladesh in a big way as apparently there is no progress in respect of the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of persecuted men, women and children, who had to cross into Coxs Bazar to escape the unprecedented atrocities orchestrated by the Myanmar security forces, local Buddhist mobs and people from other ethnic groups in Rakhine. Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the beginning of the latest exodus of Rohingyas that saw arrival of over 7 lakh Rohingyas following a brutal crackdown on Rohingyas in Rakhine. According to different estimates, with this 7 lakh, 12 to 13 lakh Rohingya people are now living in Bangladesh. Within this one year, nothing but talks took place in regards to the repatriation despite the signing of a deal. Furthermore, Rohingyas are still crossing the border into Bangladesh, which is a clear violation of the agreement signed on November 23, 2017 that states that the repatriation should have started by January 22. Against such background, the unavailability of funds to look after these traumatised persecuted people is making things worse, officials of the government and international organisations including different United Nations branches have told The Independent. Lack of adequate funding is inevitably putting the lives of Rohingyas at risk, they feared. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), little over one-third of the appealed fund has so far been made available. At the end of March in Geneva, a joint response plan was launched appealing for $951 million to take care of the Rohingyas till the end of December. But, in the last five months, only $319 million or 33.6 per cent, has been funded leaving $632 million unfunded. The officials concerned have described the unavailability of fund despite repeated appeals as unfortunate and stressed the need for urgent actions by the donors to avert further deterioration of the situation. Many sectors that are directly connected with life-saving support like food security, shelter, health and nutrition, are severely under-funded, they said. As of now, we are handling the situation in the best possible way we can. But, we need more money essentially, said a senior official of a UN organisation. The donors have done a lot. We appreciate it. But, they have to do more, he said. The international community has assured of assistance and they will have to live up to their pledges, said an official of another UN organisation. Bangladesh has already done enough. There should be no further burden on them, he said. We are aware of the lack of progress in terms of funding. It should not happen, a top government official said. At the onset of the crisis, we were assured repeatedly that money will not be a problem to look after the persecuted people. We do hope things will get better in the coming days, he said, adding, Heavens forbid, a single death owing to the lack of fund will be the last thing we want.