WB gives $165m for Rohingyas

The government yesterday signed a $165 million grant financing agreement with World Bank (WB) to provide basic services and build disaster and social resilience for Rohingyas.

To help Bangladesh deal with the world’s fastest growing exodus, the Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response Project will build 53 multi-purpose disaster shelters in and around the camps; pave more than 200km roads; provide water and sanitation services for around 2 lakh people and set up 1,500 solar street lights.

The project will also strengthen emergency response services, provide community works, and prevent gender-based violence, said a WB press release.

“The government and people of Bangladesh have generously provided shelter to about a million Rohingya refugees but the needs of both the Rohingya and host community are huge,” said Dandan Chen, World Bank acting country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. More than half of the Rohingya population is women and girls, and many were exposed to gender-based violence before coming to Bangladesh. The services delivered under the project will focus on women and children as key beneficiaries and will include measures to prevent such violence, the release added.

The project will build gender-friendly public spaces. All facilities including water and sanitation and cyclone shelters will cater to needs of women, children and individuals with disabilities. The street lights will improve safety for women.

Under leadership of the prime minister, the government has provided shelter to the forcibly displaced Rohingya population. “But this has placed enormous strain on our resources and infrastructure,” said Monowar Ahmed, secretary to the Economic Relations Division (ERD).

“We are happy that World Bank has joined hands with grant support to build disaster resilience and basic infrastructure and improve service delivery for Rohingyas,” he said.

The agreement was signed by Monowar Ahmed and Dandan Chen on behalf of the government and WB at ERD.

This is the third in a series of planned financings of approximately half a billion dollars announced by WB in June 2018.