Chattogram: The European Union (EU) is providing £200,000 in humanitarian funding to support people affected by severe monsoon rains in Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Bandarban, Rangamati, and Khagrachhari districts. This funding is aimed at assisting 125,000 Rohingya refugees as well as vulnerable host communities in some of the most impacted areas, as announced by the EU Embassy in Dhaka on Friday.
According to United News of Bangladesh, this EU funding will support the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society by providing emergency shelter materials and rebuilding damaged shelters. It will also aid in repairing essential water and sanitation facilities, supplying seeds and gardening materials, and offering cash assistance to families affected by the disaster. Special attention will be given to women, girls, and others facing heightened protection risks, with the distribution of dignity items, information, and referral support.
The operation will further focus on restoring landslide protection through cash-for-work initiatives. Communities impacted by the heavy rains will receive additional training to empower them to better prepare for floods, landslides, and other emergencies in the future. This funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Intense rainfall since July 5, linked to a monsoon depression, has triggered flooding and landslides in Chattogram Division. As of July 13, over 1.1 million people have been affected, with thirty fatalities and more than 38,000 individuals displaced. The heavy rains have caused significant damage to shelters, water and sanitation facilities, access routes, and other essential infrastructure in the Rohingya refugee camps and surrounding host communities. In the camps alone, over 4,300 shelters and hundreds of water and sanitation facilities have been reported damaged.
The EU and its Member States are acknowledged as the world’s leading donors of humanitarian aid, with relief assistance serving as an expression of European solidarity with people in need globally.