logo
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh fear aid cuts will deepen crisis

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh fear aid cuts will deepen crisis

Yahoo27-03-2025
By Ruma Paul
KUTUPALONG REFUGEE CAMP, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Majuna Khatun sat cradling her six-month-old baby at a rehabilitation centre for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, worried her child would be without critical healthcare due to funding cuts from the United States and some European countries.
"Where will I go if this facility closes?" 30-year-old Khatun said at the centre, where her child, whose tiny feet were strapped into orthopaedic braces, receives physiotherapy for clubfoot.
Bangladesh is sheltering more than 1 million Rohingya - members of the world's largest stateless population who fled violent purges in neighbouring Myanmar - in camps in the Cox's Bazar district, where they have limited access to jobs or education.
The decision by the administration of President Donald Trump to halt most foreign aid and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has caused turmoil in the humanitarian sector globally and the U.N. has warned that it will create dire conditions for refugees.
At the Bangladesh camps, Rohingya refugees fear the cuts will compound food and health issues and lead to a surge in crime.
"There are fewer doctors now. Rohingya volunteers who supported us have been dismissed. People are suffering because they can't get the treatment they need," said Mohammad Sadek, a 24-year-old Rohingya.
The U.S. has been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017, according to a State Department website.
The freeze on funds has forced five U.S.-funded hospitals to reduce services, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's top official overseeing the refugee camps, said last month.
About 48 health facilities, including 11 primary care centres, have also been affected, leaving many refugees without access to essential care, said Hasina Rahman, Bangladesh country director for the International Rescue Committee.
"Our priority (now) is to protect the most vulnerable, especially women, girls, and children," she said.
David Bugden, principal coordinator of the Inter-Sector Coordination Group, which oversees NGO efforts at Cox's Bazar, said around 300,000 refugees have been impacted by disruptions in healthcare services.
Bangladesh's foreign ministry and the U.S. embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Gul Bahar's four-year-old daughter Mukarrama, suffers from cerebral palsy. She has been undergoing therapy for the past three years which has helped improve her condition.
"If this centre shuts down, we'll lose everything she's gained. I'll be back to square one," said Bahar, 32, her voice trembling.
HUNGER AND CRIME
The U.S. cuts and those by some European countries would worsen already dire conditions for the refugees, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned.
The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said it may be forced to halve the amount of food rations to $6 from April due to a funding shortfall, which would amount to 20 cents a day.
A previous round of ration cuts in 2023 that reduced the amount to $8 monthly led to a sharp increase in hunger and malnutrition, the U.N. has said. The cut was later reversed.
"We can't work outside the camp, and the rations we get are barely enough. If they reduce it further, crime will increase, people will do anything to survive," said Nojir Ahmad, a father of five, who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar in 2017.
Rohingya camps have seen an upswing in crimes in recent years, according to police data.
About 70,000 Rohingya from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh last year, driven in part by growing hunger in their home state of Rakhine.
Aid cuts could make refugees more vulnerable to trafficking, radicalisation and exploitation, said a Bangladesh official, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
"Our food, healthcare, and education systems are collapsing," said Mohammad Jubair, a prominent Rohingya community leader. "If this gets out of hand, it won't just be a problem for Bangladesh - it will become a global issue."
Shofiul Islam was bedridden after falling from a tree five years ago. The 35-year-old said his world shrunk to the four walls of his shanty until the rehabilitation centre began treating him.
"I couldn't stand up or even turn in bed... because of them, I can move again," he said, using a forearm crutch to support himself.
"If it closes, all dreams will be shattered. People like me will have nowhere to turn."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Advicenne Receives Marketing Authorization and Reimbursement for Sibnayal® in Saudi Arabia
Advicenne Receives Marketing Authorization and Reimbursement for Sibnayal® in Saudi Arabia

Business Wire

timean hour ago

  • Business Wire

Advicenne Receives Marketing Authorization and Reimbursement for Sibnayal® in Saudi Arabia

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Advicenne (Euronext Growth® - FR0013296746 - ALDVI), a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development and marketing of innovative treatments for people suffering from rare kidney diseases, obtains marketing authorization (MA) and reimbursement status for Sibnayal® (a fixed combination of potassium citrate and potassium bicarbonate) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Marketing authorization for Sibnayal® (ADV7103) in distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA) in KSA has been granted, based on the European registration dossier. Furthermore, Saudi authorities have agreed a reimbursement rate in line with the best European pricing. This achievment results of a close collaboration between Advicenne and its local partner, Taïba Healthcare, a leading distributor of pharmaceutical products in the Gulf region. Advicenne will act as the marketing authorization holder, while Taïba Healthcare will manage local marketing activities. The incidence of dRTA is higher in Gulf countries than in Europe or the United States, and prevalence in KSA could be estimated around 600 to 800 patients. Sibnayal® is already prescribed through early access programs in several Gulf countries outside Saudi Arabia. This milestone paves the way for registrations in GCC countries where the application is filed. Didier Laurens, CEO of Advicenne, declared: 'I am particularly proud of this important achievement and wish to congratulate both Advicenne and Taïba Healthcare teams, whose efforts were instrumental in informing and convincing the Saudi health authorities. The reimbursement obtained, comparable to the highest levels recorded in Europe, further attests to the significant therapeutic value of Sibnayal® in a region with one of the highest prevalence rates of dRTA worldwide.' About Advicenne Advicenne (Euronext: ALDVI) is a specialty pharmaceutical company founded in 2007, specializing in the development of innovative treatments in Nephrology. Its lead product Sibnayal® (ADV7103) has received its Marketing Approval for distal renal tubular acidosis in EU and GB. ADV7103 is currently in late-stage development in cystinuria in Europe and in dRTA and cystinuria in the US and in Canada. Headquartered in Paris, Advicenne, listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange since 2017, has now been listed on Euronext Growth Paris since its transfer on March 30, 2022. For additional information, see: Disclaimer This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Advicenne group and its business, including its prospects and product candidate development. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Advicenne considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that the estimates contained in such forward-looking statements will be verified, which estimates are subject to numerous risks including the risks set forth in the 2024 Universal Registration Document filed with the French financial market authority on April 29, 2025 (a copy of which is available on and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Advicenne operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Advicenne or not currently considered material by Advicenne. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance, or achievements of Advicenne to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. Advicenne expressly declines any obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

Non-profit director in Gaza: ‘Children are literally starving'
Non-profit director in Gaza: ‘Children are literally starving'

The Hill

time14 hours ago

  • The Hill

Non-profit director in Gaza: ‘Children are literally starving'

Gaza humanitarian director for Save the Children Rachael Cumming said that the situation for people in Gaza is 'catastrophic,' emphasizing that children 'are literally starving.' 'The situation in Gaza is catastrophic for children and increasingly now for adults. There is no food available in the market. Children are literally starving,' she told Jonathan Karl during an interview on ABC's 'This Week.' She noted that her team is 'seeing an exponential line in the number of children attending our clinic,' adding that the number is expected to increase. 'The number of children who are malnourished, very concerningly, pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding are also malnourished,' she continued. Cumming said the clinic in Deir Al-Balah, located in the center of Gaza, 'was absolutely packed, and it was a scene I had never witnessed before.' 'I've been working in this sector for over 20 years in the whole of Africa, in various places around the world,' she said. 'And every child in the health center today was malnourished, but also every adult was extremely thin, gaunt-looking, exhausted. The situation is absolutely terrible here.' 'For months I've said, how can it get worse for children? It cannot get any worse for children, but apparently, yes, it can get worse for children,' she later added. Cumming noted that mothers went from 'eating less than three meals a day to two meals a day, to one meal a day.' 'Now, they're not having a meal a day,' she said. 'And this is very, very concerning. And this is at scale.' While she praised the recent aid airdrops in Gaza, which the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said included 'flour, sugar, and canned food,' she noted that the air drops need to be done 'in a controlled manner.' 'Airdrops are not in a controlled manner and one airdrop is equal to around one truck,' she said. 'So we need to bring in humanitarian supplies, supplies over land through the recognized routes. We need the U.N. system to be enabled to manage the distributions.' 'We welcome the fact that now the U.N. is allowed to bring in humanitarian supplies, including food, including medicines, including nutrition commodities, and including hygiene supplies,' she added. Her comments come amid Israel's 'tactical pause' in fighting in Gaza amid mass starvation concerns. While leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, say that Hamas is to blame because they stole food, reports from the Israeli military indicate that there is no proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid.

Israel's military says airdrops of aid will begin in Gaza as hunger grows
Israel's military says airdrops of aid will begin in Gaza as hunger grows

Politico

timea day ago

  • Politico

Israel's military says airdrops of aid will begin in Gaza as hunger grows

Deadly Israeli gunfire was reported twice close to the Zikim crossing with Israel in the north. In the first incident, at least a dozen people waiting for aid trucks were killed, said staff at Shifa hospital, where bodies were taken. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd 'in response to an immediate threat.' A witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, said people started running when they saw a light that they thought was from aid trucks, but as they got close, they realized it was Israel's tanks. That's when the army started firing, he told The Associated Press. He said his uncle was among those killed. 'We went because there is no food ... and nothing was distributed,' he said. On Saturday evening, Israeli forces killed at least 11 people and wounded 120 others when they fired toward crowds who tried to get food from an entering U.N. convoy, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa hospital, told the AP. 'We are expecting the numbers to surge in the next few hours,' he said. There was no immediate military comment. AP video showed a group of weary Palestinian men carrying a body along with sacks of flour. They said he was hit by a truck but had no details. 'You die to fetch some food for your children,' said one man, Fayez Abu Riyala, thin and sweating. In the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli forces shot dead at least nine people trying to get aid entering through the Morag corridor, according to the hospital's morgue records. There was no immediate military comment. Elsewhere, those killed in strikes included four people in an apartment building in Gaza City and at least eight, including four children, in the crowded tent camp of Muwasi in Khan Younis, hospitals said. The airdrops were requested by neighboring Jordan, and a Jordanian official said they mainly will drop food and milk formula. The United Arab Emirates said airdrops would start 'immediately.' Britain said it plans to work with partners to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store