EU provides €6.2m support for Rohingyas, host communities

The European Union (EU) has renewed its support to Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char with contribution of €6.2 million, reports UNB.

The support is coming through DG ECHO, the Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department of the EU.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today welcomed the European Union's generous contribution which will support UNHCR's continued protection and assistance of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.

DG ECHO remains one of UNHCR's key donors for humanitarian aid to the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh, said the UN Refugee Agency in a media release.

"ECHO's contribution enables us to provide quality protection and humanitarian assistance in a coordinated and accountable manner," said Johannes Van Der Klaauw, UNHCR representative in Bangladesh.

As the humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Cox's Bazar is entering its sixth year, the sustained support of the European Union to UNHCR's activities in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar and on Bhasan Char remains invaluable," Klaauw added.

"Nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh continue to live in dire conditions and require our unwavering support, particularly when it comes to protection," said Anna Orlandini, who oversees EU humanitarian programs in Bangladesh.

"This contribution to UNHCR will ensure that refugees, particularly the most vulnerable and at risk, are provided with adequate and meaningful protection services to improve their safety, dignity and wellbeing."

Five years after being forced to flee violence and atrocities in Myanmar, currently over 910,000 Rohingya refugees are hosted in Bangladesh, in densely populated camps in Cox's Bazar, with an additional 30,000 refugees residing on Bhasan Char.