BRUSSELS: The European Union will provide €63 million (US$74.85 million) to support the people of Myanmar, five years after the military takeover in the Southeast Asian nation, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
“With this new funding, humanitarian partners will continue providing life-saving aid, from food and shelter to emergency healthcare and education for children,” EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said.
The EU had already earmarked the money for South and South-East Asia and is now determining how it will be used.
A total of €38.6 million (US$45.9 million) is to be used in Myanmar for shelters for displaced people, access to clean water and emergency nutrition.
A further €23.4 million (US$27.8 million) is intended to support life-saving assistance for the nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. More than 700,000 people have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, since 2017, after military actions against the Rohingya, a muslim minority.
In January, a trial began at the International Court of Justice in The Hague over allegations that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya, which Myanmar denies.
Last week, a fire destroyed hundreds of shelters in an overcrowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.
The army in Myanmar, on February 1, 2021, took over after replacing the democratically elected de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi.
Resistance groups and rebels have taken up arms in some parts of the country, as fighting continues. – BERNAMA
