The United Nations has called on the international community to help meet the food and nutritional needs of the huge number of Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in Bangladesh.
According to a press release, the monthly food vouchers of the Rohingya refugees sheltered in Cox’s Bazar are being reduced for the second time in three months from June 1. This would be a 33 percent reduction in the daily ration. Each of the refugees will be given food vouchers worth only US$ 8 (Tk 840) per month. This is their only means of survival, they have no other option. In this situation, parents of Rohingya families are eating less so that their children can eat.
The UN estimates that this cut in rations will affect the lives of around one million refugees. Those who are dependent on food aid and those who have no employment opportunities or prospects for livelihood.
“At the beginning of this year, the Rohingya refugees were receiving rations worth US$12 per month from the World Food Program (WFP), barely enough to meet their daily needs,” the United Nations says. But due to lack of funding, their per capita monthly ration was reduced to US$10 from March 1. Now it has further reduced to USD 8.
Commenting on the reduction of food aid to Rohingya refugees, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Gwyn Lewis said, “We are very concerned that the World Food Programme is being forced to reduce food aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The consequences for the health and nutrition of the refugees will be dire. Women, children and the most vulnerable will be particularly affected.
He said, we are requesting international cooperation on an urgent basis. In humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees, only 24.6 percent of the total amount needed for basic health care, nutrition, food and education is funded. There is no other source of support for these huge refugees. People living in Rohingya camps do not have employment opportunities. They are totally dependent on funding from the international community.
According to the notification, the new cuts in life-saving aid to the Rohingya refugees come at a time when they are trying to overcome the ravages of the devastating Cyclone Mocha and at the same time the damage caused by a terrible fire in their camps. As a result, thousands of refugees are in dire need of help at the moment.
It also said that the situation of Rohingya refugees is particularly fragile this year. Because the request for 876 million US dollars in 2023 has been funded by 24.6 percent by June 1. As a result, other essential programs and activities are also being cut.
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