Food rations for Rohingya refugees to be cut by half: UN

Food rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will be reduced by half starting next month, the United Nations has warned.

The measure, which will affect around 1 million members of the stateless mostly Muslim ethnic minority, is due to "severe funding shortfalls," the UN World Food Program (WFP) said Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, we have still not received sufficient funding, and cost-saving measures alone are not enough," the organization said.

What do the cuts mean for the Rohingya refugees?

Around 1.1 million Rohingya live in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, most of whom fled a military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017. The UN has opened a genocide investigation into the military operation.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017Image: AFP

Food vouchers will be reduced from $12.50 (€11.60) to $6.00 per person from April 1, the WFP warned.

A reduction to anything under $6 would "fall below the minimum survival level and fail to meet basic dietary needs," the UN body said.

"What they are receiving now is already not enough, so it's hard to imagine the consequences of this new cut," a WFP spokesperson in Dhaka said, adding that the organization was hoping to raise $81 million to avert the cuts.

Shamsud Douza from Bangladesh's refugee agency plans to meet Rohingya community leaders next week.

What is behind the reduction in food rations?

The announcement comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump's administration making severe cuts to foreign aid, a policy that has shocked humanitarian programs around the world.

The WFP, however, has said the cuts are down to a "funding gap across multiple sources." Kun Li said foreign aid agencies had only raised half of the $852 million goal.

The US, the leading donor to Rohingya aid programs since 2017, has continued providing funds since Trump returned to the White House in January.

During a visit to Cox's Bazar last week, the head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi warned that if aid deliveries to Rohingya refugees were severely reduced, "the huge work done by the Bangladesh government, aid agencies and refugees will be impacted, putting thousands at risk of hunger, disease and insecurity."

Rohingya refugees in camps in Cox's Bazar are barred from holding jobs and are heavily reliant on humanitarian support.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is due to visit Cox's Bazar in the coming days to mark Ramadan, the annual month of fasting observed by Muslims.

Edited by: Kieran Burke