Australia, UNFPA sign A$16.5m deal for Rohingya response

Australia has pledged AUD16.5 million in new funding to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh through a multi-year partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The Government of Australia and UNFPA announced the funding agreement today (13 March), reaffirming their collaboration to provide critical humanitarian assistance in Cox's Bazar from 2026 to 2028.

The initiative aims to sustain essential sexual and reproductive health services, prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and strengthen support programmes for adolescents and youth.

The agreement marks UNFPA's third multi-year flexible funding arrangement with Australia and underscores the country's continued commitment to protecting the lives, dignity and rights of Rohingya refugees and the communities hosting them in Bangladesh.

According to UNFPA, more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees currently live in densely populated camps in Cox's Bazar. At the same time, around 568,000 people in nearby host communities also require humanitarian assistance.

Women and girls in the camps remain particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence, child marriage and limited access to essential sexual and reproductive health services. These risks are further compounded by security concerns, climate-related disasters and declining global humanitarian funding.

"Australia is proud to work with UNFPA. This multi-year investment reflects our commitment to predictable, flexible humanitarian funding that saves lives, protects women and girls, and helps communities withstand the growing pressures of displacement, insecurity and climate-related shocks," said Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Susan Ryle.

UNFPA is one of the key agencies supporting the Rohingya humanitarian response in Bangladesh. Through a network of reproductive health facilities, women-friendly spaces and youth centres, the organisation provides services such as emergency obstetric care, midwifery support, psychosocial counselling and the clinical management of rape.

The agency also offers voluntary and rights-based family planning services, distributes dignity kits and runs programmes designed to empower women and adolescents.

With Australia's previous support, UNFPA said it has reached about 340,000 Rohingya and host community women and girls over the past three years. The assistance has included support for more than 7,500 persons with disabilities and has contributed to reducing maternal deaths in the Rohingya camps.

"The Government of Australia's contribution is a timely and strategic investment in the Rohingya humanitarian response. Flexible, multi-year funding is indispensable in a crisis of this scale and complexity because it allows UNFPA and partners to sustain life-saving services, adapt to changing needs, and protect the health, safety and dignity of women and girls who cannot afford interruptions in care," said UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh Catherine Breen-Kamkong.

"Australia's partnership is helping ensure that no woman gives birth without support, no survivor is left without services, and no adolescent is forgotten. We are deeply grateful for this support," she added.

The new agreement aligns with the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian response and related future response plans, as well as the Australia-Bangladesh Development Partnership Plan 2025–2030 and broader humanitarian commitments.