UN to halve Rohingya food aid in Bangladesh amid funding crunch

The United Nations has warned that it will be forced to halve rations for about one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from next month due to a lack of funds.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a letter on Wednesday that “severe funding shortfalls” are forcing a cut in monthly food vouchers from $12.50 to $6 per person.

“Unfortunately, we have still not received sufficient funding, and cost-saving measures alone are not enough,” the letter said.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s top official overseeing Rohingya refugee camps, confirmed the slashing of the aid.

“I received the letter confirming a $6.50 cut, which will take effect from April 1,” the Bangladesh refugee relief and repatriation commissioner said.

“What they are receiving now is already not enough, so it’s hard to imagine the consequences of this new cut,” he told the Reuters news agency by phone.

The WFP announcement comes days before a visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is slated to meet Rohingya refugees to mark the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Bangladesh is sheltering more than one million Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority who fled violent purges in neighbouring Myanmar mostly in 2016 and 2017. They live in overcrowded camps in the southern district of Cox’s Bazar, where they have limited access to job opportunities and education.

Successive aid cuts have already caused severe hardship among the Rohingya refugees, who are reliant on aid and suffer from rampant malnutrition.

Bangladesh has struggled to support the refugees as the prospects of a wholesale return to Myanmar or resettlement elsewhere are remote.

Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, said the food voucher cut is “a death sentence” for the Rohingya refugees, already enduring very dire situations.

“WFP should emphasise reducing administrative costs and other expenses while increasing quotas for refugees to receive lifesaving support,” he told Al Jazeera.

“International donors should prioritise life-saving efforts instead of spending funds on other purposes.”

Risk of hunger, disease

The funding gap is due to a broad shortfall in donations rather than a decision by President Donald Trump’s administration in the United States to cut its foreign aid globally, the WFP said, adding that US support for food aid for the Rohingya has continued.

But the decision by the Trump administration to abruptly halt most US foreign aid will impact health facilities in the camps.

Rahman said the cuts by Washington mean a “squeeze on operations” at hospitals in the Rohingya camps and in waste management and five US-funded hospitals have had to reduce services. He said if food were to be reduced, it would create a “grievous problem”.

“These people are stateless, ill-fated and should not be suffering due to the funding crunch,” Rahman said.

The US contributed more than 50 percent of the funds for the Rohingya humanitarian response in 2024, about $300m, Rahman said last month.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Friday said he feared a decrease in donor support would put the lives of thousands at risk.

“If donor support decreases dramatically – which may happen – the huge work done by the Bangladesh government, aid agencies and refugees will be impacted, putting thousands at risk of hunger, disease and insecurity,” Grandi posted on X.

A previous round of ration cuts to Rohingya in 2023, which reduced the amount of food rations to $8 monthly, led to a sharp increase in hunger and malnutrition, according to the UN.

Within months, they said, 90 percent of the camp population “struggled to access an adequate diet” and more than 15 percent of children suffered from malnutrition, the highest rate recorded. The cut was later reversed.

On Monday, the European Commission announced the allocation of 76 million euros ($79.4m) in humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees and others affected by conflict in Myanmar.

“The EU stands firmly with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, just as we have for the past seven years,” EU Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said.

“With conflict still raging in Rakhine State and across Myanmar, their safe and dignified return remains out of reach,” said Lahbib, who visited refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar on Monday.