Australia, Unicef sign A$16m deal to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

The Australian government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) yesterday signed a A$16 million (around Tk137 crore) agreement to support humanitarian assistance for improving the living standards of the Rohingya refugees and host communities.

The agreement was signed at Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital in presence of Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed while Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Susan Ryle and Unicef representative to Bangladesh Rana Flowers signed on behalf of their respective organisations.

The funding is expected to bolster humanitarian support for the Rohingya refugee population, one of the largest in the world, as well as the Bangladeshi communities hosting them, many of whom face significant socioeconomic pressures as a result of the prolonged refugee crisis. 

The home minister said, “I am immensely delighted to be present at the agreement signing ceremony between the Government of Australia and Unicef as part of the humanitarian assistance activities for the Rohingya and host communities.”

Expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the Australian Government for this cooperation, the minister hoped that such assistance from the international community, including Australia, would continue until the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar is achieved.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Manzur Morshed Chowdhury, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Australian High Commission, and UNICEF Bangladesh, were present at the agreement signing ceremony.

It is mentioned that this agreement is part of Australia’s A$370 million (Tk3,162 crore) humanitarian assistance package to Myanmar and Rohingya and host communities in Bangladesh for the 2026-2028 period.

Notably, since 2017, Australia has provided a total of A$1.26 billion (Tk10,770 crore), including this in humanitarian assistance to address this regional crisis. Unicef will utilise this A$16 million fund provided by Australia for education, nutrition, child protection, and safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sectors for the Rohingya and host communities.