Nadine Osman
The UN has appealed for $852 million (£680 million) in humanitarian assistance and food for the Muslim Rohingya refugees and their host communities in its annual response plan to the crisis.
Over a million people belonging to the predominantly stateless minority have been welcomed into Bangladesh; many of them were escaping a military crackdown in 2017 in Myanmar, where hostilities had been intensifying.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on March 13 that a staggering 95% of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are still in need of humanitarian aid. “International solidarity with Bangladesh and refugee protection is needed more than ever as the conflict in Myanmar escalates,” it said.
Only $440 million of the $876 million requested by the UN from the international community last year was provided.
With the humanitarian crisis escaping global attention, the UNHCR warned that substantial funding shortages over the past few years have had “serious implications.” Many refugees are struggling to meet their basic needs, the report warned, insisting that “sustained assistance is critically and urgently needed.”
According to the report, women and children make up three out of every four refugees receiving aid, and they are particularly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence. “More than half of the refugees in the camps are under 18, languishing amidst limited opportunities for education, skills-building, and livelihoods,” the UNHCR said.
According to the UNHCR, the donations will be used to cover the costs of education, healthcare, drinking water access, food, shelter, and other forms of support. Many Rohingya, who want to escape conditions in the camps, have attempted dangerous, often deadly boat journeys to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, there is little progress towards repatriating the refugees to Myanmar, which is facing a UN inquiry into genocide and the 2017 massacre. In 2021, the military seized power in Myanmar, ousting the government headed by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who had also dismissed the persecution of the Rohingya.
(Photo credit: CAPTAIN RAJU/WIKIMEDIA)
