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The UK has announced further lifesaving assistance worth Euro 4.5 million to provide vital humanitarian services to Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.
UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who is co-convening a UNHCR conference on the Rohingya crisis in Bangkok, made the funding announcement, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by British High Commission in Dhaka.
Minister Trevelyan is scheduled to meet Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Dr A K Abdul Momen, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi during the conference, it added.
The UK has extended funding to support Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh, providing an additional £4.5 million for vital humanitarian services.
The statement quoted Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan saying "The UK is committed to finding a long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis. This includes their safe, voluntary and dignified return to Myanmar, when the conditions there allow."
Until the Rohingya can safely return to their homeland, they are committed to providing ongoing humanitarian support. That is why they are announcing £4.5 million of further UK support for protection services, healthcare and clean energy to the refugees in Bangladesh.
"Today's (Tuesday) conference is an important opportunity to discuss sustainable solutions in Myanmar, and support for the Rohingya and their host countries," Anne-Marie Trevelyan added.
The package of £4.5 million funding includes £2.1 million provided through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for healthcare and clean energy for the Rohingya refugees and host communities.
£2 million provided through NGOs for the protection of refugees and host communities which includes the Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, and Humanity and Inclusion. £450,000 provided through the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and provide sexual and reproductive health services, according to the statement.
Since 2017, the UK has provided £370 million to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, and nearly £30 million to support Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Myanmar's Rakhine State.
This has included food, water and sanitation, healthcare and protection services that are vital for women and girls in the camps, added the statement.
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