COX’S BAZAR, Bangaldesh: The US government has confirmed it would provide $73 million in new financial aid for Rohingya refugees through the United Nations’ food agency, easing worries among more than 1 million refugees that essential food rations would be cut.
Aid agencies, the UN and refugees have voiced concerns after the World Food Program warned it may be affected after US President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was cutting international aid.
The World Food Program said earlier this month that if it is not able to raise funds, it will have no option but to halve food rations to $6 a month from previous $12.50 in Bangladesh’s southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, where the Rohingya live in sprawling camps.
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The US had been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017.
Bangladesh government’s Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, told reporters that he received confirmation from the WFP on Thursday that refugees in Cox’s Bazar — as well as the thousands who have been relocated to Bhashan Char island — will continue to receive $12 to $13 a month each in aid.
“This food and nutrition support through WFP will provide critically needed food and nutrition assistance for more than one million people,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
“It is important that our international partners engage with sharing the burden with life-saving assistance such as this,” Bruce added.
The US had been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017 and providing the UN with emergency food and nutrition assistance, according to the State Department. The US provided about $300 million in humanitarian aid for the Rohingyas in 2024.
Refugees in Cox’s Bazar welcomed the announcement that aid will continue.
“I am glad that the president of America is donating the money, which will help (provide food for) our grandchildren. We are very happy,” said 60-year-old Hussain Bahar.
Forid Alam, a 36-year-old refugee at Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp, said the announcement was a gift coming days before Muslims’ largest festival Eid Al-Fitr.
“We are grateful to the people of Bangladesh, its government, and the donors who are donating. We are so thrilled after hearing the news ahead of Eid that we don’t have words to express our gratitude. We are praying from the bottom of our hearts and are truly glad,” he said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who visited Bangladesh recently, said Cox’s Bazar is “ground zero for the impact of the budget cuts on people in desperate need.”
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya reside in Bangladesh, including more than 700,000 who arrived in 2017 fleeing persecution in Myanmar. About 70,000 others crossed the border from Myanmar in 2024 when, during fighting with the military junta, the opposition force known as the Arakan Army effectively took over the Rakhine state where Rohingya were displaced.
Bangladesh says repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar is the ultimate solution, but complexities over verification and other diplomatic and political issues have made the refugees’ return uncertain.
