South Korea to donate $1.3m for Myanmar humanitarian aid, including Arakan State initiatives

By DMG 11 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
11 June 2021, Sittwe 

South Korea will donate US$1.3 million in humanitarian aid for Myanmar, including initiatives targeting Arakan State, through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP). 

The funding will support the 2021 operations of the UNHCR and WFP, providing aid for areas where assistance is especially needed, according to a statement from the South Korean Embassy in Yangon. 

The UNHCR said it will repair or rebuild shelters for internally displaced people (IDPs) affected by conflict in Arakan State to protect them from the inclement weather that often accompanies the monsoon season. 

 “124,000 IDPs in Rakhine [Arakan] State are expected to benefit from the shelter and community resilience initiatives,” said the statement. 

The money will also help the WFP to provide food for more than 35,000 of the most food-insecure people in Arakan State, including the state’s Muslim communities and others displaced by conflict.  

“The contribution will further bolster WFP’s monthly life-saving food or cash assistance to 320,000 people in northern and central Rakhine,” the statement added. 

The structural integrity of IDP dwellings has been an ongoing rainy season concern in Arakan State, including about 200 temporary shelters for IDPs that were destroyed by a storm last month. 

U Nyi Pu, manager of Sinbawkaing IDP camp, said: “The residents of collapsed houses are repairing their houses as best they can, but they are not strong enough to resist rain or strong winds. They are waiting for donors.” 

There were more than 200,000 IDPs in Arakan State at the peak of the two-year conflict between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA), with tens of thousands having returned to their homes since a cessation of hostilities in November 2020. Currently, more than 100,000 IDPs are still sheltering at displacement camps, according to the Rakhine Ethnics Congress.