137 million taka support agreement for Rohingya and local communities

The Australian Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have signed an agreement to provide 16 million Australian dollars (about 137 million taka) in support of improving the living standards of the Rohingya and local communities. The agreement was signed in the presence of Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the conference room of the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Secretariat today, Wednesday (June 24).
The agreement was signed by Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Susan Ryle and UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh Rana Flowers. At the event, the Home Minister said that this agreement between the Australian Government and UNICEF is important for the humanitarian assistance activities of the Rohingya and local communities.
He thanked the Australian Government for this cooperation and expressed the hope that the international community will continue to cooperate until the Rohingya are repatriated to Myanmar voluntarily, safely, with dignity and sustainably. Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Manzoor Morshed Chowdhury and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Australian High Commission and UNICEF Bangladesh were present at the event.
The agreement is part of Australia’s A$370 million (about Tk 3,162 crore) humanitarian assistance package for the Rohingya and local communities in Myanmar and Bangladesh for the period 2026-2028. Australia has provided a total of A$12.6 billion (about Tk 10,770 crore) in assistance to address the ongoing Rohingya crisis since 2017.
UNICEF said the new funding will be spent on education, nutrition, child protection and safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for the Rohingya and local communities. It is expected that this will benefit the local community in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and surrounding areas.