Severe malnutrition among Rohingya children surge by 27pc: UNICEF

The number of Rohingya children needing emergency treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Bangladesh's refugee camps has surged by 27% in February 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to UNICEF.

In Cox’s Bazar, home to over one million Rohingya refugees, including more than 500,000 children, malnutrition levels have reached emergency levels.

Over 15% of children in the camps are now malnourished—the highest rate recorded since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees in 2017.

UNICEF reported providing lifesaving treatment to nearly 12,000 children under five last year, with a 92% recovery rate. However, without urgent intervention, severe acute malnutrition can be fatal.

The crisis is worsening, with January 2025 witnessing a 25% rise in severe malnutrition cases year-on-year (from 819 to 1,021 cases), followed by a 27% increase in February (from 836 to 1,062 cases).

This rise is attributed to prolonged monsoon rains in 2024, deteriorating sanitation, spikes in severe diarrhoea, cholera and dengue outbreaks, intermittent food ration cuts, and a recent influx of families fleeing violence.

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh, Rana Flowers said, “For now, we can provide the services that Rohingya mothers come seeking, and that very sick children need, but as needs keep rising and funding declines, families are telling us they are terrified of what will happen to their babies if there are further food ration cuts and if lifesaving nutrition treatment services stop.”

UNICEF estimates that 14,200 children in the camps will suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2025. This figure could rise with further food ration cuts, poor diets, or reduced access to safe water and health services.

Malnourished children are 11 times more likely to die than their well-nourished peers without timely treatment.

“These families cannot yet safely return home, and they have no legal right to work, so sustained humanitarian support is not optional – it is essential,” said Flowers.

“UNICEF is determined to stay and deliver for children, but without guaranteed funding, critical services will be at risk.”