Bangladesh is positively considering UN-led humanitarian assistance programme in Rakhine in the face of impending famine, which may contribute to stability in Rakhine State, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said.
Since October, 2024, the United Nation repeatedly urged Bangladesh to allow the UN for opening of aid and trade routes into Cox's Bazar and Myanmar's Rakhine State.
ASEAN Chair on Myanmar Othman Hashim also visited Dhaka to discuss the issue, during a meeting with the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar Othman Hashim in Dhaka on Tuesday (March 11), Special Envoy Othman sought Bangladesh's views, insights and comments on the matter.
However, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain and High Representative of Chief Adviser on Rohingya Issue and Priority Matters Dr Khalilur Rahman on Friday met with the visiting UN chief at Hotel InterContinental and discussed the issues once again.
"In light of the dire humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, the press secretary said, Bangladesh will positively consider supporting UN-led humanitarian assistance to the state," Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Friday (March 14) told the media following the meeting at a media briefing.
He said they reiterate Bangladesh's appeal to all donors and the UN system to ensure that the assistance to Rohingyas is given high priority and aid to them does not diminish.
As per research by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s publication, titled "Rakhine: A Famine in the Making, October 2024", it warned of impending famine in Rakhine State by spring 2025 as the state will only produce 20 per cent of the food it needs.
October 2024", it warned of impending famine in Rakhine State by spring 2025 as the state will only produce 20 per cent of the food it needs.
After the publication, Burma Campaign UK has launched a petition to UN Secretary General António Guterres calling on him to travel to Bangladesh to open negotiations for aid and trade corridors into Rakhine State.
"The Burmese military-imposed trade embargo is creating mass unemployment, and blocking essentials like medicine and agricultural supplies," a senior official of UN office has said.
"Two million people face starvation, but with political will this is preventable," said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK.
The publication based on data collected by UNDP across Rakhine in 2023 and 2024, which includes direct data collection, interviews with key stakeholders (e.g., private sector, associations), surveys by civil society organizations, as well as other data regularly provided by the UN system, Rakhine's economy has stopped functioning, with critical sectors such as trade, agriculture, and construction nearly at a standstill.
"Rakhine could face acute famine imminently. Predictions indicate that domestic food production will only cover 20 per cent of its needs by March-April 2025. Internal rice production is plummeting due to a lack of seeds, fertilizers, severe weather conditions, a steep rise in the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) who can no longer engage in cultivation due to escalating conflict,"the UNDP publication said.
