DHAKA: United Nations agencies supporting Rohingya refugees who fled violence in Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh warned on Wednesday (May 20) of a critical US$610 million shortfall in lifesaving aid.
More than a million Rohingya refugees, many who fled Myanmar during a brutal military crackdown in 2017, live in vast refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar.
The UN calls it "one of the world's largest and most protracted refugee situations", and said that this year it faces a crucial test.
"The Rohingya response faces one of its most critical junctures since the initial influx," the UN-led Rohingya Refugee Response said in a statement.
"Population numbers and humanitarian needs (are) rising dramatically, while available funding declines amid global humanitarian pressures and competing crises," it added.
Carol Flore-Smereczniak, the UN chief in Bangladesh, told reporters in Dhaka that it was crucial that the "crisis doesn't become forgotten".
The UN is seeking more than $710 million to support approximately 1.56 million people, including 1.2 million Rohingya refugees and 307,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities.
A core $610 million is needed as "the bare minimum", the organisation said, noting the funds would be for the "most critical life-saving and protection interventions".
"Nine years after fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar, 1.2 million Rohingya refugees remain almost entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance", it said, noting that there have been more Rohingya arrivals since then.
More than 140,000 Rohingya arrivals were registered in 2025, it added.
The 2017 Myanmar crackdown, when Rohingya villages were burned and civilians killed, is the subject of a genocide case at the United Nations' top court in The Hague.
The refugees are officially not allowed to work.
In April, UN figures showed that the number of Rohingya refugees fleeing Bangladesh and Myanmar by boat had increased by 90 percent compared with last year.
Many undertake dangerous sea journeys on overcrowded boats, often operated by trafficking networks. - AFP
