US provides an additional $23.8m for food for Rohingya refugees

The United States, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing an additional $23.8 million in humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh to deliver urgent food and nutrition assistance to Rohingya refugees.

With this new funding, USAID will work with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide critically needed food and nutrition, including electronic vouchers to purchase staple and fresh foods, feeding 925,000 refugees, with a focus on children and pregnant and lactating women in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.  

The assistance comes at a critical time amid a funding shortfall of nearly $100 million, which has led to a reduction of food rations in the Rohingya camps, said a press release from the US Embassy in Dhaka yesterday.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas said, "The United States remains committed to delivering assistance to refugees and impacted communities in Bangladesh, but much more is needed. We urge other donors to join us in providing additional assistance to meet the needs of the Rohingya refugees.  

"We also urge the Government of Bangladesh to allow the Rohingya population to engage in more sustainable livelihood-building activities, enabling them to reduce their dependence on humanitarian aid."

Bangladesh currently hosts nearly one million refugees, most of whom are ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar.  The majority of these refugees are living in the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, as well as Bhasan Char, a silt island in the Bay of Bengal, and rely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs.

The United States is the leading contributor of humanitarian assistance in response to the Rohingya crisis.  Since August 2017, the US has provided over $2 billion in response to this regional crisis, including more than $1.6 billion to assist Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.