US announces $199m in aid for Rohingya
The United States (US) has announced an additional 199 million US dollars in humanitarian assistance to support Rohingyas and host communities in Bangladesh and across the region.
This announcement was made by Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights at the US Department of State, during a side event focused on the Rohingya crisis at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, as per a press release received in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The aid package consists of over $129 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and nearly $70 million from the US Department of State. This assistance aims to address the critical needs of over 610,000 Rohingya refugees facing severe food shortages. USAID's contribution includes $78 million from the US Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation, which will be used to purchase, ship, and distribute around 52,200 metric tons of food from American farmers to impacted communities in Bangladesh.
Since the onset of the Rohingya crisis in 2017, the US has provided over $2.5 billion in aid to the regional response, with more than $2.1 billion directed to Bangladesh alone.
Bangladesh has been hosting more than a million Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar since August 25, 2017, following a military crackdown in Myanmar, which the UN described as 'ethnic cleansing,' with other organizations labeling it 'genocide.' Despite agreements from Myanmar to repatriate the refugees, efforts have failed due to concerns among the Rohingyas about their safety in Rakhine state, and no refugees have been able to return home in the past seven years.
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