UNHCR, Japan sign $4.5 million deal to support Rohingya in Bangladesh

The United Nations refugee agency and the Japanese government have signed a 600 million yen ($4.5 million) deal to provide aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The New Partnership Agreement will enhance life-saving services and support self-reliance for refugees and Bangladeshi host communities on the southeastern coast of Cox’s Bazar and on Basan Char Island in the Bay of Bengal, according to a statement from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR, Dhaka.

Bangladesh currently hosts more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in overcrowded camps in the country’s southern border district of Cox’s Bazar. Most of those persecuted fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in August 2017.

“This new contribution from the Government of Japan to some of UNHCR’s essential protection and assistance programs as well as livelihood activities in the camps in Cox’s Bazar and Basan Char comes at a critical time now that we are facing a looming funding crisis that is already manifesting itself in the crisis,” said Johannes van der Klaau, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh. , in the statement: “I have reduced refugees’ access to food.”

Japan also confirmed its continued involvement in the refugee repatriation process.

“We will continue to engage in a solution for voluntary, safe and sustainable return, and we will cooperate with UNHCR and other humanitarian partners to achieve better living conditions for refugees and host communities,” Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kimenori said in the statement. .

In Basan Char, the Japanese contribution will allow UNHCR to expand and strengthen education and livelihood activities to help refugees support their communities, according to UNHCR.

In addition, the funding will support the renovation of two primary health care centers on Bhasan Char Island.

Since the onset of the emergency in August 2017, Japan has been a steadfast supporter of the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh, contributing over $204 million to UNHCR, other UN agencies and NGOs in Bangladesh.