US announces fresh $73M aid for Rohingya amid UN plea for funds

DHAKA, Bangladesh

The United States on Thursday has announced $73 million in new assistance for Rohingya refugees amid calls from the United Nations for more international funding.

The US is providing $73 million in new assistance for Rohingya refugees through the World Food Program (WFP), State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on X.

“This food and nutrition support through WFP will provide critically needed food and nutrition assistance for more than one million people. It is important that our international partners engage with sharing the burden with life-saving assistance such as this,” Bruce added.

Bangladesh is hosting over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, who fled a Myanmar crackdown in 2017.

According to the State Department, the US is the largest contributor of aid to the Rohingya refugees, having provided nearly $2.4 billion since 2017.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar earlier this month, urged for global support to ensure adequate funding to prevent further suffering. Guterres warned that without sufficient funds, conditions in the refugee camps could worsen, leading to more suffering and even deaths.

Earlier, WFP had announced it would have to halve monthly food aid for Rohingya refugees from $12.50 to $6 per person starting April 1, unless urgent funding was received.

However, Bangladesh's Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman told Anadolu Thursday night that the WFP had "reviewed their decision."

Citing a letter from the WFP, Rahman said the agency has "revised the allocation” to $12 per refugee in Cox’s Bazar and $13 per refugee in Bhashan Char.

No formal announcement has yet been made by any UN agency regarding this revision, either in Dhaka, Geneva, or New York.