Rohingya Refugees Pushed to Brink Amid Catastrophic Funding Shortage
March 11th, 2025
Justice For All Canada strongly condemns the decision to cut food aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The United Nations has confirmed that starting April 1, monthly food vouchers will be reduced from $12.50 to just $6 per person. Over 1 million Rohingya refugees depend on this assistance to survive. These reductions will push an already vulnerable population deeper into hunger and malnutrition.
This drastic reduction is due to severe funding shortfalls, exacerbated by significant cuts in foreign aid from major donors, particularly the United States. Successive aid reductions have previously caused severe hardship in the refugee camps. The last round of cuts in 2023 led to widespread malnutrition; within months, 90% of Rohingya camp refugees struggled to find enough food, and malnutrition among children reached record levels.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), $81 million is needed to keep Rohingya rations full until the end of 2025, with a $15 million shortfall to avoid cuts in April. The UN has warned that these cuts will worsen the dire humanitarian situation by forcing thousands of refugees into extreme hunger. Since food rations already fell short of internationally accepted dietary guidelines, this $6 monthly decrease will fail to cover even the most basic dietary requirements, putting them below the minimum survival level.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has warned that failure to close the funding gap will severely weaken Bangladesh's humanitarian response, affecting other vital services like water, sanitation, and healthcare. Refugees International has urged governments to prioritize Rohingya food security and prevent a situation where hunger and disease spiral out of control. Given half of the Rohingya refugee population under the age of 18, these cuts will have disastrous effects on children, most of whom are already undernourished. According to WFP, if immediate funding is not provided, the Rohingya crisis could turn into a forgotten famine caused by donor neglect rather than conflict or displacement.
Canada has previously responded significantly to the Rohingya crisis with $300 million committed between 2018 and 2021 and an additional $288.3 million between 2021 and 2024, supporting essential services for Rohingya refugees, including healthcare, food, education, skills training, and programs promoting women's rights. Despite these financial commitments, Canada has not established a dedicated resettlement program for Rohingya refugees. While the country has resettled refugees through its Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, there is no specific initiative targeting the Rohingya population. Justice For All Canada joins advocates in calling for the government to facilitate the resettlement of Rohingya refugees, similar to programs established for those fleeing conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.
In light of the urgency of this situation described above, Justice For All Canada urges the Canadian government to implement the following recommendations:
Justice For All Canada strongly condemns the decision to cut food aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The United Nations has confirmed that starting April 1, monthly food vouchers will be reduced from $12.50 to just $6 per person. Over 1 million Rohingya refugees depend on this assistance to survive. These reductions will push an already vulnerable population deeper into hunger and malnutrition.
This drastic reduction is due to severe funding shortfalls, exacerbated by significant cuts in foreign aid from major donors, particularly the United States. Successive aid reductions have previously caused severe hardship in the refugee camps. The last round of cuts in 2023 led to widespread malnutrition; within months, 90% of Rohingya camp refugees struggled to find enough food, and malnutrition among children reached record levels.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), $81 million is needed to keep Rohingya rations full until the end of 2025, with a $15 million shortfall to avoid cuts in April. The UN has warned that these cuts will worsen the dire humanitarian situation by forcing thousands of refugees into extreme hunger. Since food rations already fell short of internationally accepted dietary guidelines, this $6 monthly decrease will fail to cover even the most basic dietary requirements, putting them below the minimum survival level.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has warned that failure to close the funding gap will severely weaken Bangladesh's humanitarian response, affecting other vital services like water, sanitation, and healthcare. Refugees International has urged governments to prioritize Rohingya food security and prevent a situation where hunger and disease spiral out of control. Given half of the Rohingya refugee population under the age of 18, these cuts will have disastrous effects on children, most of whom are already undernourished. According to WFP, if immediate funding is not provided, the Rohingya crisis could turn into a forgotten famine caused by donor neglect rather than conflict or displacement.
Canada has previously responded significantly to the Rohingya crisis with $300 million committed between 2018 and 2021 and an additional $288.3 million between 2021 and 2024, supporting essential services for Rohingya refugees, including healthcare, food, education, skills training, and programs promoting women's rights. Despite these financial commitments, Canada has not established a dedicated resettlement program for Rohingya refugees. While the country has resettled refugees through its Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, there is no specific initiative targeting the Rohingya population. Justice For All Canada joins advocates in calling for the government to facilitate the resettlement of Rohingya refugees, similar to programs established for those fleeing conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.
In light of the urgency of this situation described above, Justice For All Canada urges the Canadian government to implement the following recommendations:
- We urge Canada to increase funding to the WFP to ensure Rohingya refugees do not starve by pressing international donors to fill the funding gap. Efforts should also be made to fund local Rohingya support groups.
- A comprehensive resettlement program for Rohingya refugees must be established without further delay. Given the ongoing crisis and considering similar policy precedents, committing to the resettlement of 10,000 Rohingya refugees over several years would be both significant and feasible.
- Canadian officials must engage with the Bangladeshi government to push for improved conditions in the camps, including the right to work and access to education. Funding should be allocated for community-led schools, a critical resource for Rohingya education.