The European Union Friday announced the release of an additional 12.5 million euro (USD 13.6 million) to address the humanitarian needs of people in Myanmar, as well as those of Rohingya refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh and the broader region.
Food insecurity in refugee camps has reached alarming rates due to a massive funding gap that resulted in a reduction of food rations distributed to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, noted an European Commission press release.
The situation is expected to become untenable by the autumn if no additional funding is mobilised by the international community. The humanitarian situation is also worsening in Myanmar due to an escalation of the conflict and to the consequences of Cyclone Mocha, which hit the country last May , it warned.
In Myanmar, following a military coup in February 2021, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has risen from 1 million to over 18 million.
Almost 90,000 people have fled Myanmar for neighbouring countries since the coup. Ongoing conflict and violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law keep driving up the number of refugees and internally displaced people, said the EU?’s executive body.
In 2017, more than 742,000 Rohingya crossed the border to seek refuge in Bangladesh.
More than five years after the large-scale violence by the Myanmar military forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people to flee Rakhine State in Myanmar Bangladesh still hosts almost one million refugees.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
