UN refugee chief fears hunger may hit Rohingya amid dramatic aid cut

DHAKA, Bangladesh

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi said he fears a possible foreign funding cut would put thousands of persecuted Rohingya, currently sheltering in southeastern Bangladesh, in hunger and insecurity.

Bangladesh has been hosting more than 1.2 million Rohingya in the southeastern Cox’s Bazar district since they fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. The Rohingya mostly depend on foreign aid as they do not have access to employment in the world's largest and congested refugee camps.

The UNHCR chief visited Bangladesh on Friday amid a US policy shift in foreign aid support which is feared to affect the Rohingya.

“If donor support decreases dramatically — which may happen — the huge work done by the Bangladesh government, aid agencies and refugees will be impacted, putting thousands at risk of hunger, disease and insecurity,” Grandi wrote late Friday on X after visiting the camps in Cox’s Bazar.

UNHCR Bangladesh said with more than 1 million Rohingya refugees, his visit focused on boosting support for the Bangladeshi government, enhancing protection, aid and seeking solutions to the plight of the Myanmar nationals.

Grandi met Bangladesh transitional government head Muhammad Yunus on Thursday where Yunus urged greater funding for the million-plus Rohingya refugees who live in camps amid growing uncertainty about the US shift away from foreign aid.

Yunus said earlier this month in a meeting with US officials in Dhaka that US assistance is the most crucial aid to Rohingya refugees.