New UK aid underlines “continued commitment” to the Rohingya people

23 Sep 2019 01:20 PM

Ensuring thousands of Rohingya refugees have access to food, clean water and healthcare, as well as providing increased support for women and girls.

• A new package of UK aid to the Rohingya crisis has been announced by International Development Secretary Alok Sharma [Friday 20 September]
• New funding will ensure thousands of Rohingya refugees have access to food, clean water and healthcare, as well as providing increased support for women and girls
• After more than two years since crisis began, a solution is needed for the Rohingya to voluntarily return to their homes in Myanmar in safety and dignity

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has announced a new package of UK aid support to the Rohingya crisis.

The new UK aid funding underlines a long-term commitment to the Rohingya people, who remain stateless since they were forced to flee their homes in the face of violence in Myanmar in August 2017.

The UK has been supporting the Rohingya since 2012 and this further £87 million package will help provide food, healthcare, water, sanitation, care and counselling for sexual violence survivors, as well as protection for vulnerable groups including women and girls.

This new commitment comes after more than two years since the crisis began, with the UK’s overarching aim to find a solution that means the Rohingya can voluntarily return to Myanmar in safety and dignity.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma yesterday said:

It is hard to truly grasp the size of the humanitarian crisis faced by the Rohingya people. More than 700,000 were forced to flee their home in the face of horrific brutality.

The UK has worked with the Government of Bangladesh to provide lifesaving aid, including food, water and shelter, as well education and counselling as they rebuild their lives.

Women and girls represent over half of the camp population in Bangladesh, and this new funding will provide vital support for them, such as critical reproductive health care, and a new emergency shelter for survivors of severe gender-based violence and trafficking.

This support announced today demonstrates our continued commitment to the Rohingya people.

The new package of UK aid announced yesterday will provide:

• medical consultations for thousands of refugees including through mobile health clinics
• continued support for an early warning system to detect diseases before they spread
• food, clean water and basic sanitation such as toilets for thousands of people
• cooking gas to prevent further damage to local forests
• increased support for women and girls, who will get access to women-only safe spaces, an emergency shelter for survivors of severe-gender based violence and trafficking and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care
• support to thousands of vulnerable Bangladeshi families, who now have nearly a million refugees living in their neighbourhood.

Notes to editors:

The UK yesterday announced an additional £87 million for sustaining the Rohingya refugee operation in Cox’s Bazar, lifting our contribution since the start of the crisis in August 2017 to a total of £226 million.

UK aid has provided support to the Rohingya since 2012 before this crisis began.

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