UNFPA, Korea launch initiatives to empower Rohinga women, youth

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and South Korea have announced a groundbreaking partnership to initiate a series of programmes to empower Rohingya youth and women in Bangladesh.

The collaboration will support safe spaces for adolescents and young people to gain vital skills and knowledge, address the risks of child marriage and gender-based violence, and enhance their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

The South Korea government committed USD $3 million to UNFPA to support adolescents, youth, and women in the Rohingya camp and host communities in Bangladesh, said a press release.
 
This significant contribution will bolster the Joint Response Plan, by preventing risks to child marriage and gender-based violence (GBV) for Rohingya people in Cox's Bazar, Bashan Char, and surrounding.

 Additionally, the funds will directly benefit Rohingya youth across eight camps.

The project named 'Combating Early and Forced Child Marriage in Rohingya Camps: Non-Formal Education in Safe Spaces', will focus on their rights, relationships, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), and functional literacy.

Besides, UNFPA will continue to run its Adolescents and Youth Centres across the eight camps, including the one in Bashan Char to provide educational sessions, life-skills training, and adolescent-responsive services.

By producing reusable menstrual products and introducing menstrual cups, the initiative will also help Rohingya girls and women to address the challenges in the crowded camps.

As the Rohingya influx has transformed into a protracted crisis and with many other humanitarian crises in the world competing for international attention and resources, there has been a significant decrease in humanitarian funding.

As mainstream education has been provided on a limited scale to children; very young adolescents, older adolescents, and young people have often been overlooked, making them more vulnerable to early and forced child marriage, early pregnancies, and GBV.

 "In this crucial moment, UNFPA deeply values Korea's leadership and commitment to addressing the pressing needs of Rohingya women and girls," said Masaki Watabe, Representative of UNFPA Bangladesh during a signing ceremony at the Embassy of Korea in Dhaka.

"Korea's new partnership with UNFPA clearly shows that the Korean Government places great importance on issues related to women and girls and demonstrates the country's firm and growing commitment to human rights and gender equality," said the Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh, Park Young-sik.