Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 03rd Jan. World Food Programme on Tuesday has announced a critical food aid support to thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar sheltering in Bangladesh, in a press release issued in New York.
WFP said “The entire Rohingya population” from Myanmar will benefit, which increased the value of its monthly food voucher from $8 to $10 per person on 1 January.
The agency said that the vouchers were worth $12 but WFP was forced to reduce their value in March to $10 because of funding gaps. A further reduction to $8 was implemented in June last year.
It noted that 2023 was marked by a sharp rise in the number of refugees struggled to eat a decent meal, to 9 in 10 by last November.
WFP praised donors for their support and said that it will gradually begin distribution of fortified rice to the Rohingya population, started in one or two camps and eventually extending to all camps in Cox’s Bazar complex and in Bhasan Char island.
Dom Scalpelli, WFP Country Director in Bangladesh said “The year 2023 has been a tumultuous one for the Rohingya in Bangladesh, who lived through multiple fire outbreaks, cyclones, and, for the first time, ration cuts.”
“The rapid deterioration of the food and nutrition situation in the camps is extremely worrying. Through all this, the donor community stood with the Rohingya it’s all thanks to its generous contributions we can now boost the voucher value and add locally fortified rice to WFP’s food assistance package,” he said
Mr. Scapelli said the agency remains fully committed to supporting the mostly-Muslim minority Rohingya, many of whom fled their native Rakhine State in northern Myanmar following a brutal military campaign in August 2017.
He added “We are immensely grateful to all our donors for their unwavering support, and we count on them to step up even further in 2024 to ensure we can provide the Rohingya with a full and nutritious ration”.
