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ROHINGYA-WOMEN-OXFAM
$72 million needed to protect displaced Rohingya women: Oxfam
Dhaka, Sept 11, 2018 (BSS) – The renowned global agency Oxfam called for
15 percent of new funding to be set aside for humanitarian programs designed
to better support women and girls, including $72 million among the nearly
half a billion dollars recently committed by the World Bank.
Currently, there is no stand-alone budget for meeting women’s specific
needs in the overall emergency response, Oxfam said in a report, lunched
today, titled ‘One year On: Time To Put Women and Girls At The Heart Of The
Rohingya Response’ at its country office here.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam was present as the
chief guest at the function while Oxfam Bangladesh country director Dr.
Dipankar Datta was in the chair.
The state minister urged the international humanitarian actors to
continue their persuasion with Myanmar for access to the Rakhine State so
that these needs of Rohingya women and girls could be adequately addressed
once they return to their homes.
“We would request the international partners to intensify their campaign
for permanent solution to the Rohingya problem,” he said.
Shahriar said the Myanmar authorities must demonstrate strong political
will as well as visible actions to address the discrimination against the
Rohingyas.
He hoped that the Oxfam report would provide a guideline for the
international donors in prioritizing their contribution and the humanitarian
actors in planning and implementation.
“Additional support for family planning programmes, women specific
health and nutrition needs and separate sanitation facilities would be
critical to avoid health hazards in the camps,” he observed.
The Oxfam report said the Bangladesh government and agencies have
provided emergency aid to more than 700,000 Rohingya people who have arrived
over the past year, but the speed at which the world’s biggest refugee camp
sprang up has made it difficult for support to keep pace.
Oxfam’s Advocacy Manager in Cox’s Bazar, Dorothy Sang said the breakneck
speed at which the Rohingya crisis unfolded meant that many emergency
facilities were installed in a rush and women’s specific needs weren’t
considered.
“This needs to be rectified urgently with substantial sums set aside to
support and protect Rohingya women, such as lighting to improve safety,
toilets and wash rooms that provide privacy, and extra assistance for the
most vulnerable,” he said.
Sang said “the Bangladesh Government should be commended for allowing
Rohingya people to seek refuge in Cox’s Bazar. We join them and others in
calling on Myanmar to address the discriminatory policies that are the root
cause of this crisis.”
Close to a million Rohingya people have sought refuge in Bangladesh
following a military campaign against them in Myanmar that has been described
by UN officials as ‘ethnic cleansing’.
BSS/ASG/TA/GMR/1529 hrs