Sweden has contributed USD 2.9 million to support lifesaving activities and promote green energy solutions for Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh.
The contribution is intended to support the SAFE+2 programme run by four UN agencies, which focuses on expanding access to clean cooking fuel in the camps as well as restoring degraded forest areas.
Eight years into the Rohingya refugee crisis, 1.17 million Rohingya still rely on humanitarian assistance to survive. The programme promotes the use of liquefied petroleum gas.
„Rohingya families tell me how essential liquefied petroleum gas is to their daily lives — how women and girls are safer as they no longer need to fetch firewood,” said Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh.
“This contribution helps sustain and protect them until conditions are in place for a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return to Myanmar.”
Focus on the greatest need
“Global humanitarian funds are shrinking, so we must focus on those in greatest need and prioritize saving lives, while upholding achievements made over the past few years,” said Nicolas Weeks, Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh. “This contribution allows refugees to continue cooking with cleaner fuel, preserving the forest and their health.”
The SAFE+2 programme is jointly implemented by UNHCR, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP),in close coordination with the Government of Bangladesh.
