Nippon Foundation to provide $ 8.5m in humanitarian assistance to Arakan State

By DMG 15 Nov 2021

DMG Newsroom
15 November 2021, Sittwe 

The Japanese philanthropy Nippon Foundation will provide US$8.5 million for malnourished internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State, according to Yohei Sasakawa, Japan’s Special Envoy for National Reconciliation in Myanmar, who visited Arakan State on Monday. 

Yohei Sasakawa, who is also the Nippon Foundation chairman, said his visit to IDP camps in Sittwe on November 15 impressed upon him the need for better nutrition among the displaced. 

“I have seen that the displaced people in the IDP camps are in dire need of nutrition, so Japan will support the IDPs. In addition to providing nutrition to the IDPs, Japan will be able to help them return to their villages,” the Japanese special envoy told reporters. 

Sasakawa said he was saddened to see so many children living in the IDP camps, adding that the Nippon Foundation was determined to provide as much support as possible. 

Of the planned US$8.5 million currently earmarked for funding, some will be used to build primary and secondary schools in Arakan State, according to the Nippon Foundation. The Nippon Foundation has previously built a total of more than 140 primary schools in Arakan State, according to the foundation. 

Although the plan to provide assistance to IDPs is good, U Sein Shwe Bu, manager of Wah Taung IDP camp in Kyauktaw Township, said equally important was operational freedom for humanitarian aid efforts. 

“Organisations providing assistance to the IDPs need to be allowed to operate freely. We want immediate assistance to those who are facing health problems in the IDP camps,” he told DMG. 

U Hla Saw, a member of the Arakan National Party’s policy steering committee, said the pledges would be monitored for follow-through. 

“He promised to provide assistance in the health and education sectors and to care for the malnourished children. It remains to be seen whether he will implement those commitments and whether the people will actually benefit from them,” he said. 

During his trip to Arakan State on Monday, Sasakawa visited IDP camps in Sittwe and met with representatives from the Arakan National Party (ANP). 

The Nippon Foundation will donate US$3 million to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine throughout Myanmar, Sasakawa also told the media. 

Sasakawa, who aided in negotiating peace between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army last year, arrived in Sittwe for the second time on November 15. 

During his first visit in late November 2020, he visited Buthidaung and Kyauktaw townships in northern Arakan State, and urged the government to hold make-up elections as soon as possible in the Arakan State townships where general elections were cancelled on November 8 of last year.