The EU has announced €200,000 in humanitarian funding to support people affected by severe monsoon rains in south-east Bangladesh, including 125,000 Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host communities.
The money will be used by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society to provide emergency shelter materials and rebuild damaged shelters, the European External Action Service (EEAS) announced on Tuesday.
Support will also include repairs to water and sanitation facilities, seeds and gardening supplies, and cash assistance for affected families.
Women, girls and others facing increased protection risks will receive dignity items — such as basic personal hygiene supplies — as well as information and referral support.
Some of the funding will go towards “cash-for-work” schemes to restore landslide protection, where people are paid to carry out recovery tasks.
Flooding and landslides hit more than 1.1 million people
Intense rainfall linked to a monsoon depression triggered flooding and landslides in Chattogram Division from 5 July, affecting Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari districts, the EEAS said.
As of 13 July, more than 1.1 million people had been affected, with 30 deaths reported and more than 38,000 people displaced.
The rains damaged shelters, water and sanitation facilities and access routes in Rohingya refugee camps and nearby communities, with more than 4,300 shelters and hundreds of water and sanitation facilities reported damaged in the camps alone.
The funding forms part of the EU’s wider contribution to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Disaster Response Emergency Fund, a pot of money used to provide rapid support when disasters strike.
