With aid cuts looming, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face halved rations and misery
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh it means they could be left with too little food and money for survival.
No cuts have happened yet. But the UN World Food Programme said if it is not able to raise funds, it will have no option but to halve food rations to $6 a month from previous $12.50 in the country's southern coastal district of Cox's Bazar, where the Rohingya live in sprawling camps.
It was not immediately clear if the WFP's decision was directly related to the Trump administration's action, but during a recent visit to the refugee camps, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized the US and other countries in Europe for halting or reducing their aid budgets.
UN food agency says no choice but to reduce rations
To be sure, a large portion of funds needed for supporting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh has come from the US Agency for International Development, but the country's government and dozens of aid organisations also look after their daily needs. Yet, any drop in humanitarian aid could have extreme impact on the lives of Rohingya refugees.
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«Cox's Bazar is ground zero for the impact of budget cuts on people in desperate need,» Guterres said last week during his visit to the camps. He said that drastic cuts in humanitarian aid are «a crime» and urged the international community to continue to support the Rohingya refugees.
Aid workers have warned that aid cuts — if they become effective in April — will devastate the lives of the refugees, especially women and children. «We will have no choice but to reduce rations starting in April,» said WFP spokesperson Kun Li.
Rohingya say aid cuts will make their lives impossible
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