Reduction of food ration for Rohingyas could deepen the existing humanitarian crisis

KHANI Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Food Security Network, has submitted a petition to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, emphasizing the urgent need for immediate action to address the funding crisis, full restoration of food rations and essential services for the Rohingyas, alongside both short- and long-term funding to meet their food and nutrition needs.

The petition also highlights the necessity of creating opportunities for self-sufficiency through proper rehabilitation.

More than 110 national, regional, international, and local organizations and individuals, including FIAN Indonesia, FIAN Switzerland, ADAB, ALRD, CSRL, ActionAid Australia, ActionAid Bangladesh, BARCIK, COAST Foundation, Cox’s Bazar Civil Society Forum- CCNF, INCIDIN Bangladesh, NGO Forum on ADB, and many others working on human rights, food rights, and related issues, have signed the petition.

Recently, the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations humanitarian assistance agency, reported that without urgent funding, the food ration for the Rohingya population will have to be reduced from $12.50 per person per month to $6. KHANI Bangladesh expresses deep concern regarding this abrupt reduction in aid, warning that it could exacerbate the already existing humanitarian crisis surrounding the Rohingya issue.

The petition submitted to the UN Secretary-General states that the global community must take swift action to address the funding gap, resume essential services, and ensure long-term, sustainable assistance.

This is particularly crucial at a time when refugees are already facing a dire humanitarian situation.

The petition further states that the Rohingyas are completely dependent on humanitarian assistance for food, making the continuation of this aid not only necessary but highly critical, especially as malnutrition continues to rise.

In 2025, after 2017, the camps are experiencing the highest levels of malnutrition, with the rate of child malnutrition exceeding 15%.

Cases of severe acute malnutrition have increased by 25% from January 2024 to January 2025, with a further 27% rise in February.

“To ensure the full human rights of the Rohingyas, the global community must take responsibility for ensuring their food security until they are able to leave these camps. Failure to take such steps may lead to tragic incidents such as trafficking, arrests, or deaths while crossing borders due to food insecurity, which will also create instability in the camps and the local communities,” said Nurul Alam Masud, General Secretary of KHANI Bangladesh.

He further emphasized that alongside ensuring proper food assistance, it is now imperative to adopt a long-term strategy to ensure safe and dignified repatriation for the Rohingyas.

Rezaul Karim Siddiqui Rana, Vice President of KHANI Bangladesh, stated, “Such steps will create widespread humanitarian disaster among the Rohingya population. Reducing food assistance would be a great betrayal by wealthy nations towards the poor populations.”

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Co-Chair of the Cox’s Bazar CSO NGO Forum and Executive Director of COAST Foundation, stated, "The primary condition for all relief assistance is food. If people cannot eat, no matter how much safety, education, or other aid we provide, it will have no impact. Without sufficient food, Rohingyas may engage in internal conflicts, break the social order, and create risks of entering host communities. This could negatively affect the labor market, with Rohingyas potentially taking low-wage jobs, thus displacing the local workforce. This, in turn, creates a risk of overall breakdown in law and order."

KHANI Bangladesh urgently calls on the international community to provide adequate humanitarian assistance to prevent a humanitarian disaster by ensuring food and nutrition aid for the Rohingya refugees.

KHANI Bangladesh is a national network composed of over 50 active national and local organizations working on issues related to food security, food rights, environment, agriculture, etc., across the country.