Dhaka Tribune
Published at February 18th, 2019
Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
UN aid agencies and NGO partners have appealed for raising $920 million to meet the massive needs of the refugees and over 330,000 members of vulnerable host communities
A quarter of the $920-million Joint Response Plan (JRP) launched in Geneva last Friday to tackle the ongoing Rohingya crisis this year has been allocated for the host communities in Cox’s Bazar.
The local people have sacrificed the most in the wake of the influx, since August 2017, of hundreds of thousands of persecuted Rohingyas from the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
The $230 million will be used for the development of different aspects of lives of about 336,000 vulnerable people, who have generously hosted their neighbours from Rakhine despite their own constraints.
“Yes, 25% of the $920-million JRP will be kept aside for the host communities and the money will be used for the betterment of their livelihoods,” Md Abul Kalam, the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Cox’s Bazar, told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday.
“This amount has been allocated on the top of significant funds from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for the host communities,” he added.
Kalam, also an additional secretary of the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry, said that the allocated money would be used to ensure food security, health and nutrition, education and environment of the vulnerable locals.
There are also some other elements which will be determined later, he said, noting that it was very important to look after the locals to keep the Rohingya crisis under control.
Cox’s Bazar currently hosts over 1.1 million Rohingyas in a number refugee camps in Teknaf and Ukhiya upazilas.
UN aid agencies and NGO partners appealed for raising $920 million for the JRP 2019, to meet the massive needs of the Rohingyas and vulnerable host communities.
Kalam, the top government official in the coastal district dealing with the crisis, said that 25% of last year’s $952-million JRP was also allocated for the host communities.
“We are now in a process of assessment as to how that money was spent and what impact it had on the communities,” he said.
“Since 69% of the 2018 JRP was completed, we can assume that we did not achieve all our targets regarding the development of the host communities,” he added.
The refugee relief and repatriation commissioner also said that about 64% of the $434-million JRP of 2017 was achieved.
“Now it is important for the international community to make sure that the pledged money comes in full to ensure smooth handling of the crisis,” he added.
The international community has always been full of praise for the host communities for their compassion and generosity for the Rohingyas.
At the UN JRP 2019 launching event on Friday, it was mentioned that local communities had responded to the emergency first back in 2017, and due to their help, critical needs were met and many lives were saved.
Link : https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/rohingya-crisis/2019/02/18/jrp-for-rohingya-crisis-25-of-920m-for-host-communities
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