EU provides 3 lakh euros for assistance to Rohingya in Bangladesh

The European Commission is allocating three lakh euros in humanitarian aid funding to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees who have recently fled from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The aid will directly benefit 7500 newly arrived refugees in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, a press release said on Wednesday.

“Most of the Rohingya families who have recently crossed the Naaf River have arrived with nothing, and are therefore in critical need of humanitarian assistance”, said Roman Majcher, Head of the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department (ECHO) office in Bangladesh.

“The support from the European Commission will not only ensure that their urgent needs are addressed, but will also contribute to help them cope with what they have just gone through by providing them with psychological support”.

The EU-funded assistance will focus on delivering much-needed immediate relief and assistance to Rohingya refugees in terms of food and nutrition support, as well as the provision of non-food relief items such as sleeping kits, hygiene parcels and warm clothes.

Unconditional cash grants will also be distributed to the most vulnerable to help them cover their daily basic needs, and psychological support will also be provided to help them cope with post-traumatic stress and shock.

Bangladesh has witnessed a major influx of members of the Rohingya community into the south-
eastern Chittagong Division over the last weeks, as a result of escalating tensions and violence in the northern part of neighbouring Myanmar’s Rakhine state. It is believed that at least 27 000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border into the country in search of safety, more than half of whom are women and children.

Many are in dire condition, both physically and mentally, and many children have arrived showing signs of malnutrition. The sudden increase in the number of refugees has prompted urgent needs for shelter, clothes and other relief items.

The EU funding is being made available via the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) through its Small Scale Response mechanism.