The World Food Programme’s aid for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has been cut to $8 per month, or 27 cents a day. (AFP file photo)
Metropolis Desk-
Following a decrease in UN food rations earlier this year, Bangladesh has requested additional cash from Gulf nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation members to assist Rohingya refugees in the nation, a Cox’s Bazar official told Arab News on Thursday.
The remarks were delivered during a phone interview with Arab News by Mizanur Rahman, Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation, who represents the Bangladeshi government in Cox’s Bazar.
This occurs as a combined delegation of the OIC and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the Gulf visits the South Asian nation’s refugee camps this week. The purpose of the trip is to discuss “the Rohingya issue and mobilize more financial resources to support the Rohingya in Bangladesh,” according to a statement from the OIC.
Aid provided by the World Food Program to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has been reduced to $8 per month, or 27 cents per day, as of the beginning of June. The meals were initially cut by the UN organization from $12 to $10 in March, citing a lack of resources.
More than 1 million Rohingya individuals who fled severe persecution and violence in neighboring Myanmar—the majority of whom fled to the neighboring Bangladesh during a military campaign in 2017—are being impacted by the reduction.
“We pleaded with the delegation for more funding from Gulf nations and OIC members,” Rahman said.
“The delegation wanted to know the latest situation of the Rohingya at Cox’s Bazar, especially in the context of the most recent fund crisis,” he continued. “The delegation pledged to support the government of Bangladesh.”
According to Rahman, the trip also included members from Gulf relief organizations like the Qatar Fund for Development and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, both of which “are already working here for the well-being of the Rohingya.”
The Rohingya reside in the filthy camps of Cox’s Bazar district, which is home to the biggest refugee population on earth. Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, making it impossible for them to legally work and support themselves.
The OIC’s Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha stated that the Rohingya issue is a major priority for the organization at the time he visited the refugee camps in May.
Acording to Mia Mainul Kabir, director-general of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs who oversees Myanmar, the UNHCR scheduled the delegation’s visit this week to address the most recent financing problem affecting the Rohingya.
“It’s intended to speed up funding for the Rohingya as the recent financial crisis has forced the World Food Programme to reduce the monthly food aid,” Kabir told Arab News.
Despite the fact that numerous donors have sent financial support, Dom Scalpelli, the WFP’s country director in Bangladesh, stated last month that the amount received was “simply not enough.”
Source- Arab News
