Aid Cuts Threaten Survival of Rohingya Refugees
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face worsening health and hunger crises as U.S. and European aid cuts jeopardize critical humanitarian services.
Inside a modest rehabilitation center tucked away in the dusty sprawl of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Majuna Khatun gently rocked her six-month-old baby. The child’s tiny legs, constrained by orthopedic braces, required regular physiotherapy to correct a congenital condition. However, the facility where she received care was on the brink of closure.
“Where will I go if this center shuts down?” the 30-year-old mother asked, her voice low but urgent.
Majuna’s fears are shared by thousands in the refugee camps of southern Bangladesh, where more than one million Rohingya—survivors of brutal ethnic purges in neighboring Myanmar—have sought refuge since 2017. Their already fragile existence is now under threat from sweeping international aid cuts, most notably by the United States and several European nations.
Rohingya at Risk as Funding Falters
For decades, the United States played a pivotal role in global humanitarian assistance. Since the 2017 Rohingya exodus, the U.S. alone has funneled nearly $2.4 billion into refugee support programs in Bangladesh. But the dismantling of key foreign aid mechanisms—initiated under the Trump administration and carried forward by subsequent budget tightening—has left a devastating vacuum.
At least five U.S.-funded hospitals have scaled back operations, and 48 health facilities, including 11 primary care centers, are either shuttered or severely limited in scope. According to the International Rescue Committee’s country director in Bangladesh, Hasina Rahman, the cutbacks are forcing aid organizations to triage care—focusing only on the most vulnerable.
“We’re now having to make impossible choices,” she said. “Women, children, and the disability are being prioritized, but even they are slipping through the cracks.”
The Human Cost of Healthcare Cuts
The reality of these cuts is stark. Mohammad Sadek, a 24-year-old refugee, said that even basic medical care has become a luxury. “There are fewer doctors. Volunteers have been let go. People are in pain and have nowhere to go,” he said.
David Bugden, coordinator for the Inter-Sector Coordination Group overseeing NGOs at Cox’s Bazar, estimates that nearly 300,000 refugees have already lost access to essential healthcare.
The implications are personal and heartbreaking. Gul Bahar, a 32-year-old mother, has watched her daughter Mukarrama—who has cerebral palsy—slowly improve through years of therapy. Now, with funding in jeopardy, she fears all that progress may be undone. “If this center shuts down,” she said, her voice quivering, “we’ll lose everything. She’ll lose everything.”
A Perfect Storm: Hunger, Crime, and Desperation
Food insecurity is now compounding the crisis. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), grappling with its funding shortages, announced that monthly food rations may be cut to just $6 per person in April—a mere 20 cents a day. That follows a previous round of cuts in 2023 that sparked widespread malnutrition.
“We can’t work outside the camp, and even with rations, we barely survive,” said Nojir Ahmad, a father of five. “If they cut it more, people will steal, fight—anything to feed their children.”
Crimes within the camps are already on the rise. Police data show an uptick in thefts, assaults, and trafficking—a pattern experts say is driven by deteriorating living conditions and a lack of opportunity. With no legal right to work and restricted access to education, many Rohingya feel trapped in a system designed to fail.
According to one unnamed Bangladeshi official, the collapsing aid infrastructure could push refugees toward radical groups, human traffickers, or worse. “When people are desperate, they’re easy to exploit,” he warned. “It’s not just a humanitarian issue—it’s a security issue.”
Global Silence, Growing Alarm
The Bangladeshi government, which has long urged the international community to share the burden, has received little response. Both the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the funding freeze.
Meanwhile, the UN continues to sound the alarm. Secretary-General António Guterres recently cautioned that without urgent financial support, the situation could spiral beyond control. “This is not just Bangladesh’s problem,” he said. “This is a crisis of global responsibility.”
In 2023, over 70,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh, fleeing not only violence but worsening hunger in the Rakhine state. The prospect of further aid reductions now threatens to drive even more displacement and destabilize the already stretched resources of host countries.
Stories of Survival, Fading Hope
For many, the aid centers are more than clinics—they’re lifelines. Shofiul Islam, 35, was bedridden for years after a fall left him immobile. It wasn’t until he began therapy at a rehabilitation center that he regained the ability to move. “They gave me back my dignity,” he said, steadying himself on a crutch. “If the center shuts down, people like me will be forgotten again.”
Mohammad Jubair, a community leader in the camps, believes the world is ignoring a crisis that could have far-reaching consequences. “This is about survival,” he said. “If the international community walks away now, we’ll be left with nothing but despair—and that despair will spread.”
A Call for Renewed Commitment
The Rohingya crisis has faded from headlines, but its human cost grows by the day. Behind the numbers are mothers fighting for their children’s health, fathers scrambling to keep food on the table, and a generation of children whose futures hang in the balance.
Aid cuts may be justified in the name of budget efficiency or shifting foreign policy priorities, but they also carry a moral cost. For the world’s most vulnerable, these decisions aren’t just political—they’re existential.
As the global community weighs its choices, the question remains: Will the world once again turn its back on the Rohingya, or will it rise to the challenge of shared humanity?
A Crossroads of Compassion and Responsibility
The Rohingya people have endured the unimaginable—ethnic cleansing, statelessness, and exile. Now, the final lifelines that sustain them are being pulled away. This isn’t just a crisis at the margins of global politics—it’s a defining test of international compassion. The choices made today will echo far beyond the camps of Cox’s Bazar. Whether through renewed aid, policy shifts, or sustained global attention, one truth must remain clear: turning away is not an option.
Source: (Reuters)
(Disclaimer: This article is for informational and journalistic purposes only. It does not represent the views of any aid agency, government, or affiliated organization.)