Rohingya fleeing violence and death in Myanmar numbered hundreds of thousands seeking shelter in Bangladesh. (Dar Yasin/AP Photo/Sept. 14, 2017)

Canada teams up with World Bank to help Rohingya refugees

The federal government is joining forces with the World Bank to provide maternal and child health and nutrition services, as well as reproductive health care and family planning support to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The World Bank Board of Directors approved on Thursday a $50 million additional grant to the Health Sector Support Project in Bangladesh that includes contributions based on a partnership between the Canadian government and the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

The grant is the first in a series that could total as much as $480 million to help Bangladesh deal with the evolving humanitarian crisis affecting nearly a million Rohingya refugees, according to the World Bank.

“Bangladesh has shown great leadership in this,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

The grant allows the World Bank, working in collaboration with Canada, to support Bangladesh’s efforts to assist the Rohingya refugees, Kim said.

“We are deeply moved by the suffering of the Rohingya people and stand ready to help them until they can return home in a safe, voluntary, and dignified manner,” he said. “At the same time, we are also continuing to support the Bangladeshi people and the host communities, who have shown great generosity by welcoming these refugees.”

Canada’s contribution

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, arrive at the National Press Theatre to make an announcement and hold a media availability on Canada’s response to the Rohingya crisis in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Canada is pledging $300 million in foreign aid over the next three years to help the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority fleeing a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in their native Myanmar, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced in May.

“We are pleased to partner with the World Bank and the Government of Bangladesh in providing additional support for the displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh,” Bibeau said in a statement. “Through this innovative initiative, for every dollar contributed by Canada, five additional grant dollars will be unlocked in support of much needed health, nutrition and population services for the refugees.”

Monsoon season worries

Rohingya refugees walk under rain clouds on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Jamtoli refugee camp in Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Aid agencies warn that the onset of the seasonal monsoon rains, causing flooding and landslides, will have important health impacts, including injuries, exacerbation of water-borne diseases, and reduced access to health services.

It is estimated that 200,000 people are at risk of landslides and floods during the monsoon season, which began on June 9 with heavy rains hitting Cox’s Bazar, one of the world’s largest refugee camps with a population of over 900,000 people from Myanmar.

In addition to health challenges facing the Rohingya, the learning needs of highly vulnerable refugee youth and children are emerging as another priority. Approximately 370,000 children and youth (55 per cent of the total displaced Rohingya population) need access to schooling, according to the World Bank figures.

An additional grant to the education project, currently under preparation, will provide basic education and psycho-social support to refugee children and youth, the World Bank said.

The organization is also considering subsequent investments in the areas of disaster risk management, water and sanitation, environmental protection and conservation, social protection, urban services, and social cohesion and gender rights.

Categories: Immigration & Refugees, International
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