Just weeks after thousands of Rohingya refugees lost their homes to Cyclone Mocha, they face another blow as funding shortages force the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to cut food vouchers in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar to just US$ 8, or less than 9 cents per meal. The UN agency said Friday that funding shortfalls had already led to a cut in food aid earlier this year.
960,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are receiving assistance in Bangladesh. In March, WFP had to reduce its life-saving food vouchers from US$ 12 to US$ 10 per person per month. The situation in the refugee camps is already dire.
“We are appealing for urgent support so that we can restore rations to the full amount as soon as possible. Anything less than US$ 12 has dire consequences not only on nutrition for women and children, but also protection, safety and security for everyone in the camps,” said Dom Scalpelli, WFP Resident Representative and Country Director in Bangladesh.
Six years into the refugee crisis, Rohingya refugees remain stranded in the camps in Bangladesh without livelihood opportunities and relying entirely on humanitarian assistance to survive. They are not permitted to earn a living or leave the camps in Bangladesh. WFP’s general food assistance has been the only source they could count on to meet their essential food and nutrition needs.
According to the UN agency, even before the ration cut in March, 12 percent of children were acutely malnourished and 41 percent of children were chronically malnourished. Any further ration cut will likely lead to a precipitous spike in acute malnutrition.
WFP warned, with less food to get by, refugees have little choice but to resort to negative coping mechanisms. Children may be withdrawn from school or girls offered in child marriage. If refugees seek illegal employment, they face heightened risks of exploitation and abuse, and may fuel tensions between the refugees and the host community. Those desperate enough to take to the high seas face dangerous journeys and uncertain fates.
The Rohingya continue to live under the constant threat of extreme climate. While Cox’s Bazar was spared a direct hit when Cyclone Mocha made landfall on 14 May, considerable destruction to shelters and infrastructure occurred in the camps.
“WFP food assistance is the only reliable source of food for the Rohingya. We are extremely grateful for all contributions received so far, but we still need US$ 56 million to restore the full ration and keep this lifeline intact until the end of the year,” Scalpelli said.
Nearly one million Rohingya refugees are currently living at the Kutupalong and Nayapara refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar region. For decades, the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority, have faced institutionalized discrimination in Myanmar, such as exclusion from citizenship. In August 2017, the Myanmar government launched a military campaign that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Bangladesh.
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. The UN agency, awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, is saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to support people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. The World Food Programme works in over 120 countries and territories. For millions of people worldwide, WFP assistance can make the difference between life and death. In 2022, WFP assistance reached some 140 million people globally.
Further information
Full text: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face grim choices as more cuts to food assistance imminent, WFP press release, May 26, 2023
https://www.wfp.org/news/rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-face-grim-choices-more-cuts-food-assistance-imminent