YANGON: The European Union is providing €63 million (US$74.85 million) to support the people of Myanmar five years after the military coup in the South-East Asian nation.
"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 is to be used in Myanmar for shelters for displaced people, access to clean water and emergency nutrition. A further €23.4 million is intended to support life-saving assistance for the nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Since 2017, the military of Myanmar has acted with unprecedented violence against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority. More than 700,000 people have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.
In January, a trial began at the International Court of Justice in The Hague of Myanmar, which is accused of genocide against the Rohingya. Myanmar denies the allegations.
Last week, a fire destroyed hundreds of shelters in an overcrowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.
The army in Myanmar staged a coup on February 1, 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi.
Resistance groups and rebels now control parts of the country. The fighting continues. More than 16 million people in the country are dependent on humanitarian aid. - dpa
