On March 29, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, launched the 2022 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis. The United Nations seeks more than $881 million in donations to support some 1.4 million Rohingya refugees living in camps in eastern Bangladesh.
U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas announced on March 29 that the United States would deliver $152 million in additional humanitarian assistance for those in Bangladesh, Burma, and elsewhere in the region affected by the Burmese military’s genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing of Burma’s Rohingya minority, said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price in a written statement.
Since August 2017, when over 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee to safety in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the United States has responded with over $1.7 billion in assistance, including the recently announced, $152-million-tranche.
More than $125 million of this latest sum is earmarked for programs specifically in Bangladesh. Some of the money will help our humanitarian partners provide life-saving assistance to the over 920,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. It will also provide support to more than 540,000 members of the local host community in Bangladesh who are affected by the crisis.
Some of the funding will go toward providing families with food, healthcare, access to clean water and sanitation to prevent the spread of disease. It will support the protection of Rohingya refugees’ human rights and well-being, help strengthen disaster preparedness, and help combat the effects of climate change.
Likewise, we understand that education and income-generating activities are among the most effective methods to create safer refugee camps in Bangladesh. This is just one of the reasons why some of the funding will go toward ensuring that children and young adults have access to education and vocational training.
“The United States recognizes that Bangladesh and its people have taken on an enormous responsibility in hosting refugees,” said Spokesperson Price. “We are working with the Government of Bangladesh, Rohingya, and people within Burma toward finding solutions to this crisis, including the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return and reintegration of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons when conditions in Burma allow.”
In Support of the Rohingya Community
FILE - Rohingya refugees headed to the Bhasan Char island prepare to board navy vessels from the south eastern port city of Chattogram, Bangladesh.
U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas announced that the United States would deliver $152 million in additional humanitarian assistance for those in Bangladesh, Burma, and elsewhere in the region affected by the Burmese military’s crimes against humanity.