WB supports resilience activities for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar

A Rohingya refugee walks at a refugee camp in Cox's BazarReuters file photo

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief is partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support community resilience in the Rohingya camps, with a contribution of US$35 million from the World Bank.

This funding has been received as part of a larger grant of US$165 million from the World Bank to the ministry, with WFP implementing part of the overall project.

The US$ 35 million grant will go toward providing work opportunities and community services to Rohngya. This includes flood assistance support to 700,000 people as part of the COVID-19 humanitarian response in the camps.

Post COVID-19 restrictions, the project will scale up self-reliance opportunities for extremely vulnerable families in the camps and target young people with volunteering opportunities to promote social cohesion.

The self-reliance programmes aim to improve the economic and social resilience of 60,000 Displaced Rohingya Population households. This is done through working days centred around short-term community service, volunteer services, and training courses. It also includes skills development and self-reliance activities for the vulnerable households. For extremely vulnerable households and individuals it includes transfers in return for their engagement in volunteer networks.

WFP provides food assistance to 860,000 Rohingya people each month and is supporting around 600,000 people of the host community in Cox’s Bazar.

The project will provide work opportunities for around 40,000 displaced Rohingya population households which is equivalent to reaching more than 20% of the camp population, to help improve camp conditions through public works such as site, accessibility, and drainage improvement as well as reforestation.

“I hope the implementation of this agreement is conducive to improving access to the rights and privileges of the Rohingya people,” said Shah Kamal, secretary of the disaster management and relief.

“These are important programmes for both the Rohingya and host communities,” said Richard Ragan, WFP Representative to Bangladesh. “To improve medium to long-term resilience and social cohesion, people need to have the skills, market linkages, and resources to improve their long-term food security.”

WFP provides food assistance to 860,000 Rohingya people each month and is supporting around 600,000 people of the host community in Cox’s Bazar.