Saudi-funded food assistance begins reaching Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host families in Cox’s Bazar, aiming to ease food insecurity and support 60,000 households during Ramadan.
Saudi-funded emergency food assistance has begun reaching tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host community families in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said Wednesday, as humanitarian agencies seek to ease food insecurity during the holy month of Ramadan.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) and Additional Secretary to the government Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said the support would strengthen humanitarian ties and help meet urgent nutritional needs among displaced populations.
“Rohingyas have been living in Bangladesh as refugees for nearly nine years. On humanitarian grounds, the government has given them shelter and international organisations have continued to assist them,” he said at the inauguration of the programme at the FDMN Camp 22 in Unchiprang.
He said the food assistance initiative funded by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) for 42,000 Rohingyas would reinforce bonds of Muslim brotherhood. Saudi Arabia has consistently stood beside Bangladesh in times of crisis, extending support to its people, he added.
Mizanur Rahman also stressed the importance of ensuring the safe and dignified repatriation of the Rohingyas through international cooperation.
The programme, titled “Emergency Food Assistance for Rohingya and Host Communities in Bangladesh,” is being implemented by the local non-governmental organisation ISDE Bangladesh.
The inauguration event was presided over by ISDE Bangladesh Executive Director and CAB central committee Vice President SM Nazer Hossain. Among others present were Camp-in-Charge Rajib Chowdhury, Programme Officer Md Jahangir Alam, Rohingya Response Programme Manager Md Jasim Uddin Siddique, Programme Officer Tajuddin, MEAL Officer Mostak Ahmad and Field Officer Supam Barua.
Representatives from the local administration, ISDE officials and Rohingya community leaders, known as majhis, also attended the event.
Speaking at the programme, SM Nazer Hossain said food assistance would be distributed among poor and vulnerable Rohingya refugees as well as host community families, with the majority going to camps.
“This initiative will help ensure food security and meet nutritional needs. During Ramadan, many underprivileged families struggle to secure adequate food. This support will bring them some relief,” he said.
Under the project, ISDE plans to distribute food assistance to 60,000 families, including 42,000 Rohingya households and 18,000 families from host communities in Cox’s Bazar.
The programme formally began with the distribution of food packages to 1,500 Rohingya families at FDMN Camp 22 in Unchiprang.
Each beneficiary family will receive 10 kilograms of rice, 7 kilograms of lentils, 3 litres of soybean oil, 3 kilograms of sugar and 1 kilogram of salt.
Officials said the assistance targets elderly people, children, widows, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups across different communities.
