UK pledges £12m extra to Rohingya crisis for ‘urgent needs’

By:

Simone Rensch

28 Nov 17

Global funding for the Rohingya crisis will only meet “urgent needs” for the next 100 days, the UK international development secretary has said.

Penny Mordaunt has announced the UK will give £12m extra aid for the Rohingya people and Bangladesh.

Following a visit to Bangladesh, she said: “Global funding to support the Rohingya people will only meet urgent needs for the next 100 days – we cannot turn our backs on those trapped in crisis.”

The additional funding brings the total UK support to £59m since August.

Since violence broke out in Myanmar at the end of August, when militants reportedly attacked the government forces after decades of ethnic tensions, an estimated 600,000 people have fled to Bangladesh.

Donor countries pledged more than $344m (£257.66m) in aid of the Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh, at a United Nations conference in October.

But this money only covers the months up to February 2018 and more international pledged are needed to meet needs, the UK Department for International Development said.

Japan said it would give up to $1.03bn of development aid to Myanmar to help improve rural incomes during the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines earlier this month.