UNHCR Warns Rohingya Aid in Bangladesh Faces Collapse Amid Funding Gap

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said roughly 150,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh over the past 18 months, marking the largest influx since 2017. Most of the new arrivals have settled in the already densely populated camps around Cox’s Bazar, which now shelter more than one million people who primarily fled violence and persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. UNHCR warned that essential services in the camps are on the brink of collapse because its $255 million appeal for this year is only 35 percent funded. Without additional money, the agency projects health services will be severely disrupted by September and food assistance could cease entirely by December, endangering hundreds of thousands of refugees, including about 230,000 children. The agency urged international donors to close the funding gap and praised Bangladesh for continuing to host the Rohingya despite stretched resources. Humanitarian partners cautioned that failure to secure new funds may intensify despair in the camps and drive more refugees to undertake dangerous onward journeys.