UAE contributes Dh7.35m emergency food relief to Rohingya refugees
abu dhabi — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have signed a Dh7.35 million (US$2 million) agreement to support emergency food relief for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
It is part of UAE’s firm stance to help the vulnerable and needy of the world affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters — without discrimination or prejudice based on race, gemder or belief.
The agreement is part of the Supplementary Appeal of the Emergency Response in Bangladesh initiated by the United Nations in March 2018, seeking financial support to help 1.3 million people, including 884,000 Rohingya refugees and 336,000 host communities by the end of this year.
This funding aims to provide treatment for 132,000 refugees, including 78,000 women and children living in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar camp and its new communities. It will also help the UNHCR and its partners reduce the incidence of mortalities linked to moderate and severe malnutrition with life-saving nutrition interventions.
Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, assistant secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development; and Toby Harward, director of the Office of the UNHCR in the UAE, signed the agreement.
The agreement will support the ‘Emergency Food Relief for Rohingya Women and Children Refugees in Bangladesh’ programme, from March 2018 to December 2018, with over one third (37 per cent) of UNHCR’s urgent needs from the total project cost valued at US$5.4 million.
Al Shamsi explained that the UAE’s foreign aid policy aligns with the initiatives marking the Year of Zayed in 2018. Since the escalation of the Rohingya displacement in 2017, many humanitarian organisations in the UAE have rushed to provide emergency assistance, food, relief and medical aid to help meet the urgent daily needs of refugees. UAE total assistance in the crisis reached US$6.7 million from August 2017 to March 2018.
Since August 25, 2017, over 655,000 people, including 355,000 children have been forced to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine state and seek safe haven in Bangladesh, making the Rohingya refugee crisis the fastest growing in the world. These new refugees joined nearly 213,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled to Bangladesh in previous waves of displacement.