UNHCR chief  worried over Rohingya financing

The UN refugee agency chief has appealed for sustained and predictable support for Rohingya refugees staying in Bangladesh_ saying he is worried now over the funding.

Speaking to reporters in Dhaka on Wednesday_ UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi emphasised the need to maintain refugees hopes for voluntary return to Myanmar once the situation allows.

Grandi is currently in Bangladesh in a five-day trip where he met Rohingya refugees_ the country s top leadership_ UNHCR donors and humanitarian actors.

 The world must remember the crisis that Rohingya refugees and their hosts have been facing for the last five years. The refugees lives depend on how the international community responds in caring for them_ The UN refugee agency chief said_ after visiting the refugee camps in Cox s Bazar and Bhasan Char Island.

Bangladesh hosts around one million Rohingya refugees_ most of them fled for their lives from Myanmar in 2017_ while others arrived many years earlier.

In a press briefing on Wednesday_ Filippo Grandi talked about receiving support from donors so far_ but there was reason for concern now. He said_ donors had supported so far_ but Ukraine and Afghanistan and a lot of other competing crises had made situation tough to draw support.

He expressed gratitude to Bangladesh government and underlined the important strides in the refugee response_ including COVID-19 vaccinations for more than 88% of the adult refugee population.

While UNHCR_ the UN Refugee Agency_ and UNDP are working on community projects in Rakhine state under a tripartite agreement with Myanmar Junta_ initiatives must be scaled up and more support is necessary to create conditions for voluntary returns in a just_ safe and sustainable manner.

After visiting the Rohingya camp Grandi said_ the Rohingya refugees reiterated their desire to return home when conditions allow. The world must work to address the root causes of their flight and to translate those dreams into reality.
 
While in Bangladesh_ it is important that they can live in safety and dignity that they can send their children to school and learn from the Myanmar curriculum_ which is being rolled out in the refugee camps. More than half of the total refugee populations are under the age of 18.

Skills development and livelihood activities in Cox s Bazar and Bhasan Char are extremely important in allowing the refugees to build peaceful communities_ contribute to a safe environment and support their sustainable return_ he said.

Humanitarian agencies need at least $881 million this year to support around 1.4 million people_ including 920_000 Rohingya refugees and around 540_000 Bangladeshis in neighbouring communities in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan char.

On finances_ Filippo Grandi said_ I will never say it s impossible. But it will be more difficult than before.

 We need to find the solution for these poor people_ for decades so much subjected to exile_ to violence. So I will do whatever I can to mobilise those resources_ he concluded.