UN calls for $77m for Rohingya aid

The United Nations has called for USD 77 million in urgent assistance for the Rohingya people who have fled into Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar.

UN believes that a total of 290,000 have crossed into Bangladesh and that the country urgently needs USD 77 million to assist them, said a press release issued today.

The response plan of UN agencies and international NGOs is expected to provide life-saving support to an approximate of 300,000 people until the end of 2017.

Before this latest crisis, agencies were already working, but the influx has overwhelmed the services that were in place, said Robert Watkins, UN resident coordinator in Dhaka.

To support the new arrivals, there is now an urgent need for 60,000 new shelters, as well as food, clean water and services, including specialist mental health services and support for survivors of sexual violence, he added.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has already allocated US$ 7 million, which will allow life-saving assistance to an estimated 75,000 people, he added.