Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said 100,000 of the displaced Rohingya people, now living in Bangladesh, would be shifted to Bhasanchar Island in Noakhali soon for giving them shelter there until their repatriation.
She said this when UN Under Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr Natalia Kanem met her at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka.
The prime minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.
Hasina said some 100,000 Rohingyas would be shifted to Bhashanchar soon as 6,000 people were working there to arrange their accommodations.
She said Bangladesh was a disaster-prone country and the upcoming monsoon may cause untold sufferings to the Rohingyas. "So, measures are being taken for their temporary shelter in Bhashanchar. They'll stay there until their repatriation."
The prime minister said Bangladesh had given shelter to the Rohingya people who fled persecutions in Myanmar's Rakhine state on humanitarian grounds and the locals in Cox's Bazar were also cooperating with the Rohingyas.
She informed Kanem that 60 babies were born in Rohingya camps on average a day.
Kanem highly praised the prime minister for giving shelter and support to the Rohingyas, and her government's successes in women empowerment in Bangladesh.
She said Bangladesh had gained extraordinary improvement in the maternal healthcare.
Appreciating Bangladesh's progress in poverty eradication, she said the UNFPA would continue to provide its assistance to the country.
Hasina said the aim of her government was to develop the entire country, including the remote areas, by ensuring food security, healthcare and education for all.
She said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had taken initiatives to bring the women, who account for 50% of the country's total population, to the mainstream and empower them to build them as potential workforce.
Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi and Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman were also present at the meeting.
