UN seeks $710M as Rohingya crisis deepens amid global aid cuts
UN warns shrinking humanitarian funding is pushing Rohingya refugees toward hunger, exploitation and deadly sea journeys
DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners have appealed for $710.5 million to sustain life-saving assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, warning that worsening global funding shortages are threatening essential services for nearly 1.6 million people displaced by one of the world’s longest-running refugee crises.
Joint Response Plan for 2026, launched in coordination with Bangladeshi authorities, seeks funding for Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char island, along with vulnerable Bangladeshi host communities affected by prolonged displacement crisis.
Humanitarian agencies said appeal has been sharply reduced compared to previous years because of widening global crises and declining donor support, even as conditions for refugees continue to deteriorate. Funding request for 2026 is around 26% lower than previous year and covers only minimum requirements for food, shelter, healthcare, sanitation and education.
According to U.N. agencies, food assistance alone requires $247.3 million, while tens of millions more are needed for shelter, healthcare, water and sanitation services, and education programs for refugee children who remain largely cut off from formal schooling opportunities.
The Rohingya — a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine State — fled to Bangladesh in massive numbers after Myanmar military committed a genocide in 2017. Bangladesh currently hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees, making Cox’s Bazar home to one of the world’s largest refugee settlements.
Despite billions of dollars in international aid since 2017, humanitarian agencies warned that refugees remain overwhelmingly dependent on outside assistance because of severe restrictions on movement, employment and long-term opportunities.
“As resources become more limited, it is more important than ever to help refugees build skills and resilience, so they can gain independence, hold on to hope, and rebuild their lives,” said Kelly T. Clements, deputy high commissioner of UNHCR.
Aid agencies said declining humanitarian support is already worsening conditions inside camps. Around 35% of refugee households relied entirely on food assistance in 2025, while many others survived through unstable temporary work or limited cash-for-work programs run by humanitarian organizations.
Humanitarian groups also warned that desperation inside camps is increasingly pushing refugees toward dangerous sea crossings across Southeast Asia. According to U.N. officials, 2025 became the deadliest year on record for Rohingya sea journeys after repeated boat disasters claimed hundreds of lives. Last month, a vessel carrying more than 270 people capsized, leaving only nine survivors.
The appeal was launched after a high-level donor mission involving representatives from Australia, Canada, European Union member states and Britain visited refugee camps and host communities in Bangladesh.
U.N. agencies reiterated that voluntary, safe and dignified repatriation to Myanmar remains the only long-term solution to the crisis, but ongoing conflict inside Myanmar’s Rakhine State has made prospects for return increasingly remote.
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