The World Bank’s (WB) Board of Executive Directors on Tuesday approved two projects totaling $700 million to provide basic services and build disaster and social resilience for both the host communities and displaced Rohingya population in Bangladesh.
Nearly one million Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar to Bangladesh since 2017, making it one of the largest forced displacement crises in the world, said a press release on Wednesday.
“We greatly appreciate the Government of Bangladesh’s generosity in supporting nearly one million Rohingya people. We also recognize the enormous pressure placed on the host communities,” said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Abdoulaye Seck added that with the crisis entering its seventh year, long-term planning and sustainable solutions have become critical, while also addressing short-term, urgent needs. We are fully committed to supporting the Government of Bangladesh to address this complex crisis and support the wellbeing of both the Rohingya and host communities,
The $350 million Inclusive Services and Opportunities for Host Community and Displaced Rohingya Population Project and the $350 million Host and Rohingya Enhancement of Lives Project will together provide support to the Bangladeshi host communities and the Rohingya people as this crisis enters its seventh year.
The interventions supporting the Rohingya population will be financed by the World Bank as grants under the IDA20 Window for Host Communities and Refugees.
The Inclusive Services and Opportunities for Host Communities and Displaced Rohingya Population (ISO) Project will build on active investments in livelihoods and essential health, nutrition, family planning, gender-based violence response and prevention services for at least 980,000 people in the Rohingya and host communities.
The project will prioritize investment in human capital development, with the aim to support the education of 3 lakh Rohingya children under the age of 12.
“The protracted displacement crisis that the Government of Bangladesh is addressing is ultimately a challenge about supporting people, whether they are in the host community or in the displaced Rohingya population,” said S. Amer Ahmed, World Bank Task Team Leader for the ISO Project.
He said, “The ISO Project will be supporting vulnerable households in both communities to invest, protect, and use their human capital through support for temporary work, training, education, child protection, primary healthcare, nutrition, family planning, and gender-based violence response and prevention services.”
Around 70 percent of the displaced Rohingya people in Bangladesh are women and children, and half are less than 15 years of age. The two projects recognize the differentiated impact of the crisis on women, children, and other vulnerable groups.
