Unicef to give $113m for 7.2 lakh kids

As part of the Rohingya joint response plan, Unicef will provide $113 million to meet the needs of 720,000 children -- Rohingya as well as Bangladeshi children in the communities hosting them -- through the end of 2018.

The "extraordinary efforts" of the Bangladesh government, with support from the humanitarian community, brought crucial protection and relief to children and families, many of whom had escaped death, said Unicef.

The crisis continues -- the Rohingyas are still fleeing Myanmar with around 500 new arrivals every week over the past month.

The scale of immediate, basic, life-saving needs including the daily need of 17 million litres of clean water remains immense.

Some 50,000 latrines are needed, of which over 28,000 are constructed and over 200,000 children are still not getting any form of education.

"There are new and acute risks," Unicef spokesperson Marixie Mercado told reporters at a press briefing in Geneva yesterday.

The response plan includes the preparedness work that is going into protecting Rohingya refugees from impending monsoon rains and potential cyclones.

It also includes longer-terms needs, most importantly education and protection and notably psychosocial support, for children.

"Together with partners, we have been able to reach 82,000 children between 4 and 14 years old with rudimentary learning -- English, Myanmar and some maths -- plus some basic life skills," said the Unicef spokesperson.

The plan aims to reach 270,000 children by the end of the year, a huge undertaking, but one that can spell the difference between hope and despair for every single one of those children.