ADB considering grant support to help tackle Rohingya crisis

Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering grant support to Bangladesh to help tackle Rohingya crisis.

"Based on the request from the Bangladesh government, ADB will consider providing a substantial amount of grant support, as an exceptional case, to refugees as well as host communities in close collaboration with the government and the World Bank", said Country Director Manmohan Parkash.

A team from the ADB led by the country director visited Cox's Bazar today to identify scope and areas of a project to be developed jointly with the government.

Country Director Parkash said that the amount of the support is yet to be confirmed.

The assistance may be used to meet the basic needs of more than one million Rohingya refugees, as well as the host communities.

Talking to The Daily Star, Kazi Shofiqul Azam, secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) said ADB discussed with them about their interest to provide support for Rohingyas yesterday.

It is difficult for Bangladesh to provide all needs of Rohingyas, he said.

He added that ADB took the decision about the grant for Rohingyas during the last annual meeting held in Manila early this month.

In the meantime, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) completes its assessment about the need of Rohingya refugees.

Earlier, the ADB expressed its eagerness to help Bangladesh in dealing with the Rohingya crisis that has already become a tremendous burden for the country.

"We are in close contact with the government on Rohingya issue and ADB is ready to support Bangladesh when it will request for the financial assistance," ADB South Asia Director General Hun Kim told reporters during his visit in Bangladesh in November last year.