The European Commission has announced an extra €22 million in humanitarian aid to ensure life-saving support for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, as well as Rohingya and other conflict-affected people in Myanmar.The funding will address immediate needs, including protection services, food assistance, nutrition, health and shelter.Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said the Rohingya crisis has reached unprecedented proportions and sustained international solidarity is essential to tackle the enduring humanitarian needs. Read: Rohingya repatriation: Bangladesh seeks more support from Singapore, ASEAN"The EU's new aid package underlines our commitment to the most vulnerable refugees and their host communities in Bangladesh, as well as conflict-affected population in Myanmar".With this additional funding, EU humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness support in Bangladesh this year exceeds €41 million, with a focus on addressing the most pressing needs of Rohingyas and their host communities in the country, according to a message received here from Brussels on Friday.In Myanmar, EU humanitarian funding now totals over €27 million to respond to increased needs since the military take-over.In Bangladesh, over 919,000 Rohingya refugees live in with a majority located in congested Cox's Bazar refugee camps.

Bangladesh and Myanmar at a technical level discussion on Thursday expressed readiness to continue working closely to address the reasons causing delay in the verification of the past residency of the displaced people in Rakhine.The first ever meeting of the newly formed technical level ad-hoc task force for verification of the displaced persons from Rakhine was held on Thursday virtually between Bangladesh and Myanmar.Shah Rizwan Hayat, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief of Bangladesh and Ye Tun Oo, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Immigration and Population of Myanmar led their respective sides.RRRC Shah Rizwan Hayat highlighted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s humanitarian gesture to give temporary shelters to the huge number of displaced people from Rakhine despite numerous constraints and challenges of Bangladesh. Read: Hasina seeks Japan’s support for early solution to Rohingya crisis He expressed dismay over the slow pace of verification of past residency by Myanmar and offered all cooperation under the three bilateral instruments, to expeditiously complete the verification process.He mentioned that solving difficulties and gaps in pending verification will pave the way for the early commencement of the sustainable repatriation of the displaced people of Rakhine which also demands creation of conducive environment in Rakhine and confidence building among them. Read: Global community's strong commitment sought to resolve Rohingya crisis Detailing the technical difficulties and information gaps, the Myanmar delegation assured their cooperation to complete pending verification.They expressed optimism that the Task Force would be instrumental to complete the verification process.