Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh worry ahead of food aid cuts
DHAKA: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh expressed deep concern on Wednesday as the cash-strapped UN World Food Programme prepares to cut aid for large portions of the 1.2 million-strong community.
“Do you think $12 is enough for a person to have food for an entire month?” refugee representative Sayed Ullah told AFP.
“How on earth will a person survive on $7 to $10 worth of food assistance?”
The WFP is the sole provider of monthly food assistance for the community. Global funding is stretched thin. More people need aid. Resources are already under pressure.
Currently, Rohingya in the Cox’s Bazar camps receive food aid equivalent to $12 per month.
From April 1, rations will be cut to just $7 for groups deemed to be at lower risk. A middle category will receive $10.
Only those deemed “extremely food insecure” will maintain the same $12 payment. This group makes up around a third of current beneficiaries. It includes households headed by children or women, or the elderly or physically challenged.
WFP spokesperson Kun Li said the changes aim to “deliver assistance more equitably and in line with real needs.”
“Every household continues to receive support according to their food gap, with the most food-insecure receiving the highest level,” she added.
Refugees are officially not allowed to work. Ullah said smaller rations may push many to engage in illegal activities just to survive.
“Hungry people are angry people, and there may be law and order issues,” said Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner.
He acknowledged that aid agencies are facing a funding crisis but warned of potential fallout.
Many Rohingya escaped Myanmar during a brutal military crackdown in 2017. The campaign, which saw Rohingya villages burned and civilians killed, is the subject of a genocide case at the United Nations’ top court in The Hague.
Worldwide WFP funding fell by about 40 percent in 2025. US President Donald Trump slashed foreign aid after taking office last year, dealing a heavy blow to humanitarian operations worldwide.
In March 2025, following the cuts, the WFP said it would have to cut monthly aid to $6, but those measures were not implemented. Monitoring Desk
