Japan, IOM ink deal on $5.7M aid to Rohingya in Bangladesh

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Japan and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) signed an agreement on Monday to provide $5.7 million in assistance for persecuted Rohingya refugees living in southeastern Bangladesh.

The aid to be given under the project will provide increased access to safe spaces, protection, and psychosocial services to host communities and more than 34,000 people in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, while over 11,500 households will receive shelter upgrades and maintenance support.

The document was signed by Iwama Kiminori, Japan's ambassador to Bangladesh, and Abdusattor Esoev, who heads IOM's Bangladesh mission, according to a statement of the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka.

The project will also improve living standards for camp residents by improving site management and development, while also strengthening the self-reliance of Rohingya, especially women and young people, by improving livelihood opportunities on the island of Bhasan Char, a remote island where more than 34,000 refugees have been relocated, according to the statement.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country in South Asia, currently hosts over 1.2 million Rohingya across 33 squalid refugee camps in the country's southern border district of Cox's Bazar.

The majority of them fled a brutal military crackdown in their home country Myanmar's Rakhine State in August 2017.

The Rohingya and host communities in Cox's Bazar face significant challenges due to a lack of shelter that has put their privacy and security at risk.

The statement also said that livelihood opportunities needed to be increased on Bhasan Char in such areas as aquaculture, small livestock rearing, and through vocational and life skills training.

"As the Rohingya crisis continues into its sixth year, the international community should not forget this vulnerable population, who still face an uncertain future,” Esoev said.

Since August 2017, Japan has provided support for Dhaka's Rohingya refugee response, contributing over $200 million to the IOM and other UN agencies, as well as refugee and aid groups in Bangladesh, it added.