EU to provide €68M in Rohingya response amid growing funding gap

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The European Union is providing €68 million ($70.9 million) this year for the Rohingya response, said the Bangladesh transitional government on Monday.

The fund will be for the host communities in Bangladesh and for the people caught in violence in Myanmar's Western Rakhine state, the government said in a statement after Muhammad Yunus, head of the transitional government, met with the visiting EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib in Dhaka on Monday.

The announcement of the financial aid came amid a serious crisis of funds for the persecuted Myanmar nationals.

The EU commissioner for equality, preparedness, and crisis management said that though the amount is more than the initial EU contribution last year, it is still not enough to avoid the risk of a significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the camps.

Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million Rohingya in the southeastern Cox’s Bazar district since they fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.

Yunus reiterated his government's support for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, saying it is a "big issue" for Bangladesh. “It has been going on for several years without any solution,” he added.

“The UN secretary-general is coming. We are trying to draw international attention to the Rohingya crisis,” said Yunus.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Bangladesh from March 13 to 16.

The UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, expressed similar concerns about the fund crisis for the Rohingya when she met with Yunus on Sunday. “We are very worried about the money situation,” she said.