BRAC and EU join forces to support humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar
BRAC and the European Union signed an agreement on Monday, 5 May 2025, to launch a new joint initiative to strengthen integrated humanitarian support in Cox's Bazar.
The agreement, signed at the BRAC Centre in Mohakhali, Dhaka, marks the beginning of a project titled "Humanitarian-Development Coexistence Nexus to Address the Rohingya Crisis in Cox's Bazar."
The agreement was signed by His Excellency Mr. Michael Miller, Ambassador of the European Union to Bangladesh, and Mr. Asif Saleh, Executive Director of BRAC, in the presence of senior representatives from both organisations.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The project is grounded in cost-effectiveness, efficiency, Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), coexistence, and community empowerment. The initiative is expected to benefit more than 125,000 Rohingya individuals and nearly 2,500 members of the host community, with a strong focus on the inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
More than seven years since the onset of the Rohingya response in 2017, both refugee and host communities in Cox's Bazar continue to face a protracted humanitarian crisis. Challenges such as declining funding, rising social pressures, and parallel service delivery systems have placed growing demands on limited local resources.
This project offers a mid-term, integrated solution combining humanitarian and development approaches to enhance efficiency, accountability, and sustainability. It will empower communities through participation and capacity building, promoting peaceful coexistence and cost-effective service delivery. With an investment of EUR 4.45 million (approximately BDT 62 crore), the project will support individuals from Rohingya and host communities in Cox's Bazar over 24 months. Its best practices and lessons learned aim to contribute to a replicable model for other protracted humanitarian crises.
The agreement underscores BRAC's and the European Union's commitment to delivering coordinated, effective, and sustainable humanitarian assistance in one of the world's most protracted displacement crises.
