BANGLADESH: Rations will be halved for around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from next month due to a lack of funds, the United Nations food agency has said.
Huge numbers of the persecuted and stateless Rohingya community live in squalid relief camps in Bangladesh, most arriving after having fled from a 2017 military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar.
Successive aid cuts have already caused severe hardship among Rohingya in the overcrowded settlements, who are reliant on aid and suffer from rampant malnutrition.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in a letter on Wednesday (Mar 5) that “severe funding shortfalls” had forced a cut in monthly food vouchers from US$12.50 to US$6.00 per person.
“Unfortunately, we have still not received sufficient funding, and cost-saving measures alone are not enough,” the letter said.
Md. Shamsud Douza of Bangladesh’s refugee agency told AFP that his office would meet community leaders next week to discuss the cuts.
A decision by United States President Donald Trump’s administration to make drastic cuts to foreign aid has sent shockwaves through humanitarian initiatives worldwide.
But WFP’s Kun Li said that the US remained a donor for Rohingya aid and the ration cuts reflected a “funding gap across multiple sources”.
Funds raised were only half the US$852 million sought by foreign aid agencies, she told AFP.
Wednesday’s letter comes days before a visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is slated to meet Rohingya refugees to mark the annual Muslim Ramadan fast.
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