Naypyidaw, 26 August 2022 (TDI): 25th August 2022 marked 5 years since the Rohingya were forced to flee Myanmar.
It was the time when the military crackdown in Myanmar forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee their homes to reach Bangladesh.
European Union supported Rohingya refugees with humanitarian projects focused on food, nutrition, protection, and health care.
”The day I lost my 4-year-old son was one of the worst days of my life,” says #Rohingya refugee Ramiza.
Today marks 5 years since the Rohingya were forced to flee #Myanmar.
The EU continues to support Rohingya refugees with humanitarian projects.
🔗 https://t.co/0FfcIMhuhD pic.twitter.com/5WF29Qhndw
— EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid 🇪🇺 (@eu_echo) August 25, 2022
The Rohingya people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who are predominantly Muslim. Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, an estimated 1.4 million Rohingya lived in Myanmar.
Today, nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees live in the world’s largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar, depending entirely on Humanitarian aid.
Also Read: Plight of Rohingyas Discussed at UN Human Rights Council
European Union support for Rohingya Refugees
The EU supports the Rohingya refugees with humanitarian projects focused on food, nutrition, protection, and health care.
According to the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, “to date, the EU has allocated over €320 million for the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the region.”
Food
The World Food Programme (WFP), with European Union humanitarian Funding, provides food assistance to the refugees through e-vouchers. This gives them the freedom to choose their preferred food.
Moreover, they can also purchase common staples such as rice, fortified cooking oil, eggs, and lentils, giving economic opportunities to host communities.
Nutrition
Low food security and unhygienic living conditions have resulted in extreme malnutrition amongst the refugees.
Over 11 percent of children suffer from acute malnutrition, and more than 30 percent suffer chronic malnutrition in refugee camps.
The EU and WFP provide special nutritious food and targeted supplementary assistance to treat women and children who are identified as malnourished.
Education
According to the EU, children and adolescents comprise over 50% of the Rohingya refugee population in Cox’s Bazar.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a very concerning learning gap and dropout, especially affecting girls.
The EU works with partners, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, to set up learning centers and provide essential education continuity for Rohingya children.
In addition, a pilot program enabling digital learning has been introduced.
In addition, the EU has also launched a Myanmar curriculum pilot and scale-up through which Rohingya refugee children can now study the national curriculum of their home country.
Health Care
Mostly living in dilapidated and overcrowded conditions, Rohingya refugees are exposed to numerous health risks.
The EU funds partners like Save the Children to provide necessary health services to vulnerable Rohingya refugees.
That includes “improving access to primary health care, addressing specific health needs of women and girls as well as including reproductive services.”
Protection
With no current legal protection mechanisms, the Rohingyas are considered ‘illegal migrants’ and are at risk of arrest, arbitrary detention, exploitation, and deportation.
The EU funds International Rescue Committee (IRC) to strengthen the protection of refugees through various initiatives.
That includes monitoring and analyzing the environment in camps and disseminating information on the protection and availability of services.
Moreover, the EU protection assistance’s main objectives are tracing and reunifying families. Save the Children also collaborate closely with the EU and other partner organizations to reunify lost children with their families.
