Japan donates to WFP as Rohingya ration restores to $10

Japan donates to WFP as Rohingya ration restores to $10

Nurul Islam Hasib/ Dhaka tribune

Publish : 22 Feb 2024, 09:57 PMUpdate : 22 Feb 2024, 09:57 PM

Japan has come up with additional funding to the World Food Program (WFP) as the UN agency has been grappling to provide food aid.

Ambassador Iwama Kiminori handed over a cheque of new contribution of $5.4 million from Japan at a ceremony in Dhaka on Thursday to WFP Bangladesh Country Director Dom Scalpelli.

This funding will enable WFP to continue providing life-saving food assistance and bolstering disaster risk reduction initiatives for the Rohingya refugees, the UN agency said.

In 2023, dwindling donor funding forced WFP to reduce the monthly food entitlement for the entire Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar from $12 per person per month to $10 in March, then to US$8 in June.

Thanks to the commitment of the donor community, starting 1 January, WFP says it has partially restored the ration to $10 per person per month and added locally fortified rice into the assistance package for the first time.

"We are pleased to have decided to provide $5.4 million in life-saving food assistance to the displaced Rohingya people through WFP, building on the $4.4 million provided in June last year,” the ambassador was quoted as saying in a joint statement.

“This contribution underscores Japan's unwavering commitment to humanitarian aid and our dedication to addressing hunger and malnutrition. By supporting the Rohingya community, we alleviate immediate suffering and contribute to the broader goal of fostering stability and peace in the region”.

The latest monitoring by WFP and humanitarian partners has shown that the situation in the camps has deteriorated significantly, with a staggering 90 percent of the population lacking access to an adequate diet and over 15 percent of young children suffering from malnutrition, the WFP said.

“More worrying still is the increasing violence and insecurity in the camps, as well as human trafficking.”

UNHCR reported that nearly 4,500 Rohingya refugees embarked on deadly sea journeys in 2023 – a significant increase from previous years.

The new Japanese donation will also be used to support the host community in Cox’s Bazar in building their resilience against climate shocks.

“We are deeply grateful for Japan's latest funding and their steadfast support over the years," said WFP Country Director Scalpelli.

“While we are encouraged by the partial increase of the rations, the escalating hunger and malnutrition rates in the camps highlight the urgent need to fully restore the ration. We rely on Japan and the rest of the donor community to continue their vital support, ensuring that we can meet, at least, the Rohingya’s basic food and nutrition needs until they can be repatriated safely.”

WFP needs another $38 million in funding to fully restore the ration – now $12.5 per person per month, with fortified rice added – for the remainder of the year.