Canada creates relief fund for Rohingyas

Canada which responded quickly to the Rohingya crisis will also help Canadians and civil society organisations mobilise their own responses through the creation of the Myanmar Crisis Relief Fund. 

Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced that for every eligible donation made by individual Canadians to registered Canadian charities between August 25 and November 28, the government of Canada will contribute an equivalent amount to the Fund. 

This desperate situation is triggering a humanitarian crisis of such scale that concerted international action is required to meet increasing needs, said the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka. 

Host communities in Bangladesh and displaced people in Myanmar are still in urgent need of basic necessities such as food assistance, water, sanitation services, health care, protection and shelter, it said. 

Through experienced and trusted partners, Canada will deliver gender-sensitive humanitarian assistance. 

"We'll also continue to address the specific needs of women and girls by prioritising services to those who are most vulnerable, including pregnant and nursing women, single mothers and women-headed households," said the High Commission statement. 

This includes sexual and reproductive health services as well as psychosocial counselling for the survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, it said. 

"Bangladesh is now hosting the world's biggest refugee camp where Rohingyas and other minorities are fleeing the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar," said the Canadian Minister. 

"I encourage all Canadians to donate to the organisation of their choice. Your donation will save lives and will allow them to be treated with dignity until they can return home," said Bibeau. 

Canada has committed over $25 million in humanitarian assistance funding in Bangladesh and Myanmar. 

The UN launched an appeal for over $434 million to respond to the crisis but is still well short of that goal. 

On October 23, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, named Bob Rae as his Special Envoy to Myanmar. 

As Special Envoy, Rae will reinforce the urgent need to resolve the humanitarian and security crisis in Myanmar and to address the situation affecting vulnerable populations. 

Since August 25, the ongoing violence in Myanmar has resulted in the exodus of an additional 600,000 Rohingyas into Bangladesh, where nearly 70 per cent are women and children.