The United Kingdom has announced a $27 million humanitarian aid package to help more than half a million Rohingya refugees and vulnerable host communities in and around Cox’s Bazar, a move designed to deliver life-saving support and ease local pressures. The funds will supply food, shelter, clean water, sanitation and healthcare, and they include a major push to deliver sexual and reproductive health services to 175,000 women and girls while also supporting survivors of sexual, physical and mental harm. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the funding will directly improve lives on the ground and help communities stay safer and healthier. The package will be channeled through trusted multilateral and non-government partners, including the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Programme, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA and several international NGOs, so aid can reach camps and nearby towns quickly and in an organised way. Key areas of support cover camp management, food aid, sanitation, education, skills training, climate-resilient farming and help for persons with disabilities, and planners say the funds will back both immediate needs and steps that build resilience over time. The United Kingdom has already been a long-term partner in the response and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars since the crisis began, showing that steady support can make a real difference when combined with careful planning and local knowledge. Officials say the new aid will also help host communities that share services and land with the refugees, because healthy towns and villages make it easier to provide fair services and keep social ties strong. Donors and relief agencies plan to track results, report on progress and adjust support to meet changing needs so help stays useful and effective. Local leaders and community groups are expected to play a role in how services are delivered so aid fits the real needs people describe and so communities can help guide recovery. The funding aims to protect the most vulnerable, reduce suffering and keep services running during hard times, while also supporting schooling and skills that help people find work or care for themselves. Organisers say the new package is part of wider efforts with Bangladesh and global partners to seek stability, protect dignity and build a more sustainable future for displaced people, making sure aid is useful now and that it helps people take steady steps toward safer, healthier lives. Communities will be offered training in flood and salt-tolerant farming, small cash help to buy essentials, and safe spaces for women to get support. Aid groups will improve clean water systems, toilets and teach hygiene to help stop disease. The plan aims to reach families in camps and nearby towns and make sure help is fair, steady and quick.
