WFP’s Rohingya response programme gets $121m from US

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a substantial new contribution from USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance to support its humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh.

Valued at $121 million, the latest US contribution includes both in-kind and financial support for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, reads a press release. 

The funds will be used to provide lifesaving food and nutrition assistance, and support resilience-building and disaster risk reduction in the camps. Children and pregnant and breastfeeding women in host communities will also receive assistance to prevent and treat malnutrition.

The US funding will additionally enable WFP to provide immediate food needs during emergencies (hot meals and fortified biscuits) for Rohingya families affected by sudden crises such as cyclones, floods, landslides, and fire incidents.

"The United States continues to lead the way in funding this crucial humanitarian response for more than 1 million Rohingya refugees. Our commitment remains unwavering. Their needs, along with those of their generous host communities, should remain a priority for the international community," said Reed Aeschliman, USAID mission director in Bangladesh.

Now entering the eighth year of the crisis, the Rohingya population in Bangladesh remains in a precarious situation, facing movement restrictions, a lack of job opportunities, and increasing security threats.

In 2023, reduced funding forced WFP to cut food rations from $12 to $10, and then to $8. Monitoring showed a sharp decline in food consumption among Rohingya families in the camps, with global acute malnutrition (GAM) rising to 15.1%—above the 15% emergency threshold per WHO classification, marking the worst level since the 2017 influx.

The US contributions played a pivotal role in helping WFP restore food rations in Cox's Bazar. Beginning in early 2024, WFP was able to increase the ration and, by August, restore the full amount to $12.50 per person per month. 

For the first time, fortified rice was added to the assistance package. However, to sustain the full ration and continue operations into next year, WFP urgently requires nearly $80 million in additional funding.

"We are deeply grateful to the United States for their longstanding and unwavering support to the Rohingya population. I hope other humanitarian and development partners will follow their example. Only by working together can we meet the basic needs of Rohingya families until they can safely be repatriated to Myanmar," said Dom Scalpelli, WFP country director in Bangladesh.