Arakan News Agency
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) signed a grant agreement on Thursday to support approximately 2,000 Rohingya refugee families in Bangladesh, equivalent to nearly 10,000 individuals, through shelter restoration and the provision of sustainable housing solutions.
According to the UNHCR’s announcement, the agreement was signed by Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner and UNHCR Representative to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and Ambassador Khaled Mohammed Al-Maghames, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, at the society’s headquarters in Kuwait City.
Under the agreement, the UNHCR will carry out shelter restoration and maintenance work, alongside providing essential shelter materials for refugee families, contributing to their protection from harsh weather conditions and enhancing levels of safety, stability, and dignity within the Cox’s Bazar camps.
Khaled Khalifa emphasized that the agreement comes at a time when Rohingya refugees are facing increasing challenges as the displacement crisis enters its ninth year, amidst declining humanitarian funding and limited livelihood opportunities.
Ambassador Khaled Al-Maghames stated that the agreement embodies the shared commitment between the society and the UNHCR to alleviate the suffering of refugees and improve their living conditions, emphasizing that the partnership aims to provide safe and sustainable housing for Rohingya families, in line with the humanitarian values of the State of Kuwait and the society’s mission to support those in need.
Both sides explained that the agreement will direct Zakat funds towards implementing shelter projects in the Cox’s Bazar camps, thereby strengthening humanitarian efforts aimed at providing safer living environments, protecting displaced families, and preserving their dignity.
Bangladesh currently hosts approximately 1.2 million Rohingya who live inside overcrowded camps under dire humanitarian conditions, having fled Myanmar following a violent campaign against them that UN and international reports have described as amounting to “genocide.”
