Rohingya refugees face starvation as US aid cuts deepen crisis in Bangladesh
World Food Programme slashes rations to $6 per person as collapse of U.S. funding threatens over one million Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar
DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Over one million Rohingya refugees living in sprawling camps in southeastern Bangladesh are facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, with severe food shortages and a collapse of essential services after the United States withdrew funding from global relief efforts.
The crisis has escalated following deep cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the world’s largest donor to humanitarian aid.
The World Food Programme (WFP), which relies heavily on U.S. support, has reduced food assistance for Rohingya refugees from $12.50 per person per month to just $6 — a level described by aid groups as unsustainable.
In March, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres visited Cox’s Bazar, calling the situation “one of the world’s most overlooked humanitarian crises.” He urged the international community not to abandon the Rohingya. “We cannot accept that the international community forgets about the Rohingya,” Guterres said, pledging to speak out to world leaders about the urgent need for more support.
The aid shortfall comes amid sweeping changes in U.S. policy under President Donald Trump, who slashed USAID budgets through the Department of Government Efficiency, reportedly overseen by billionaire Elon Musk.
In a sharply critical opinion piece published in The Hindu, Syed Munir Khasru, chairman of the international think tank IPAG, described the cuts as “a manufactured crisis, an ideological experiment in dismantling global aid, carried out on the backs of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
According to Khasru, the U.S.—which formally recognized the Myanmar military’s campaign against the Rohingya as genocide in 2022—is now undermining the very humanitarian lifeline that sustained the refugees in Bangladesh, the second-largest recipient of USAID in South Asia.
The effects have been devastating. At least five hospitals have closed, gender-based violence services have vanished, and sanitation programs have collapsed. Vulnerable groups, especially women and children, have been left exposed to increased risks of exploitation and disease.
“America’s moral compass is questioned when the world’s richest men believe that spending on starving refugees is wasteful,” Khasru wrote, warning that the U.S.’s retreat from foreign aid represents an “abdication of moral leadership.”
Other donors have attempted to step in. The European Union has pledged €32.3 million ($35 million), and countries such as Japan and Italy have also contributed. But these efforts fall far short of bridging the funding gap.
Analysts also warn of broader geopolitical consequences. The U.S. withdrawal from the region risks eroding its influence in South Asia and ceding ground to China, which has been increasing its economic engagement with Bangladesh and playing a mediating role in repatriation talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The long-term outlook remains bleak. Despite repeated calls for safe and voluntary repatriation, conditions in Myanmar remain unsafe for return. In the meantime, the international community is being urged to act swiftly before the situation spirals further.
“What is unfolding in Cox’s Bazar is not just a test for those suffering, it is a test for human civilization,” Khasru warned.
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