By Hafizur Rahman, Cox’s Bazar, August 27, 2025
The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning: unless urgent funding is secured, food aid for more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will end after November 30.
“We have funds until November 30. On December 1, there will be no food for 1.2 million people,” said WFP’s Bangladesh director. “To maintain even the minimum level of support, urgent funding is required.”
WFP said it needs $173 million for the next 12 months. Without it, the already meager monthly ration of $12 per person could collapse entirely.
Life on the Edge of Hunger
Currently, each refugee receives rice, oil, salt, chili, lentils, eggs, fish, chicken, and sugar worth $12 a month. But if the ration is cut to $6, families will be left with only 8 kilograms of rice, a small portion of lentils, 1 liter of oil, and 300 grams of salt — barely enough to survive.
A Rohingya man at a distribution center told Rohingya Khobor:
“Families are already cutting back on food and taking loans just to survive. If more cuts come, malnutrition will rise and unrest will grow in the camps.”
Officials warned that malnutrition rates, already high, will climb further. “If rations drop to $6, children will die,” the WFP director cautioned, urging support from traditional donors as well as Gulf countries, ASEAN, and OIC members.
Conference Warning
The warning came during the three-day international conference in Cox’s Bazar, “Stakeholders’ Dialogue: Takeaways to the High-Level Conference on Rohingya Situation.”
Delegates — including diplomats, UN officials, and NGOs — visited hospitals and food distribution centers to witness conditions firsthand. The closing statement stressed that without urgent international action, food support will vanish after November, turning the fragile situation into catastrophe.
Beyond Aid: Addressing Root Causes
Discussions also underlined the root causes of Rohingya displacement — Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, decades of persecution, mass killings, sexual violence, forced displacement, and systematic military abuses in Rakhine State.
Delegates praised Bangladesh’s generosity but noted the mounting strain on host communities in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. They called for stronger roles from ASEAN, the UN, and neighboring states.
Key recommendations included:
- Amplifying Rohingya voices in international forums
- Ensuring safe, voluntary, and sustainable repatriation
- Increasing donor commitments and responsibility-sharing
- Continuing humanitarian assistance to prevent famine
- Dismantling military and IDP camps in northern Rakhine
- Supporting international justice efforts through IIMM, ICJ, and ICC
A Looming Crisis
Eight years after the genocide, Rohingya refugees remain trapped between despair and uncertainty. With food aid now set to vanish, the risk of hunger and instability is more real than ever.
As one aid worker put it: “Rohingya cannot survive without food. They want to return home, but until they can do so safely, the world must not let them starve.”
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