Commenting on reports over the weekend that the Australian Government would provide an extra $15 million funding for the Rohingya refugee crisis, Oxfam Australia Humanitarian Manager Meg Quartermaine said:
"Oxfam Australia welcomes the commitment of additional humanitarian funding from our Federal Government as the Rohingya refugee camps prepare for the monsoon season.
"While we do not know the details of the humanitarian assistance or how quickly it will be available, extra funding for food, shelter and health services, as well money to help women and girls who have survived sexual and gender-based violence, will help as the camps brace for flooding and landslides.
"With heavy rains already starting in the camps, there is an urgency to provide increased support and to help the camps to scale up the assistance needed to prepare for the monsoon season. There is a need for essential services and to help relocate refugees in risk areas. The monsoonal rains could soon cut vulnerable people off from accessing key drinking water sources and aid distributions, which could be devastating for pregnant women, elderly or disabled people and children.
"Having just returned from visiting the camps, I have seen firsthand that the funding is greatly appreciated. We could see the work that was already being undertaken, but this additional funding can assist increased work to limit the damage of the impending monsoon season and the assistance that will be needed beyond the rains." ---
