CHR News Desk
New Delhi June 2
The UN in Bangladesh has strongly condemned a second reduction in food rations for Rohingya refugees residing in the country, following a funding shortfall of $56 million that forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to implement the cuts. The value of rations provided to Rohingya refugees will now be reduced to $8 per month, equivalent to 27 cents per day. At the beginning of the year, refugees received a ration of $12 per person per month, which barely met their daily needs. The funding shortage resulted in a cut to $10 on 1 March. The UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, expressed extreme concern about the situation and appealed for international support, highlighting the devastating impact on the nutrition and health of vulnerable individuals, particularly women and children.
The Rohingya, a mostly-Muslim ethnic group, fled en masse after a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in August 2017, which was described by the former UN human rights chief as ethnic cleansing. The influx of Rohingya refugees joined the hundreds of thousands who were already seeking shelter in Bangladesh from previous waves of displacement. The current refugee camp has become the largest in the world, housing close to a million people. The majority of Rohingya refugees depend solely on the provided rations, as they are barred from working by Bangladeshi authorities. The funding allocation for basic health services, nutrition, food, and education for the Rohingya response effort is only 24.6 percent, making international support crucial for their survival.
Independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, including Tom Andrews, Michael Fakhri, and Olivier De Schutter, warned that the cuts in rations would have devastating consequences and urged donors to contribute enough funds to restore the rations fully. They emphasized that the reduction in food rations, combined with existing trauma and deprivation, would lead to increased rates of acute malnutrition, infant mortality, violence, and potential regional instability. The experts also highlighted the long-lasting impact on the development of Rohingya children and the heightened vulnerability of pregnant women, breastfeeding women, adolescent girls, and children under five to exploitation and abuse.
Even before the initial ration cuts, health indicators for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were already alarming. Forty-five percent of Rohingya families did not have access to a sufficient diet, 40 percent of Rohingya children experienced stunted growth, and more than half suffered from anemia. The recent Cyclone Mocha, which struck western Myanmar, further worsened the situation by damaging or destroying the shelters of approximately 40,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, adding to the already critical budgetary needs.
The independent UN experts called on Member States to urgently close the $56 million funding gap for food rations, urging those who had scaled back their contributions to reverse course. They emphasized that the failure to provide sustainable levels of food to Rohingya families in Bangladesh was a stain on the conscience of the international community, as the refugees were forced to flee Myanmar due to genocidal attacks by the military.
