The British government has quietly cut aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh by a staggering 82 per cent, mainly impacting children, according the Burma Campaign UK in a press release.
British aid to Rohingya refugees has been reduced from £112.36 million in 2019-2020 to £20.26 million in 2022-2023.
The British government has so-far pledged no new funding for the 2023-2024 financial year, despite other countries doing so, the NGO says.
Around one million Rohingya refugees live in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Over half of the refugees are children, and now the UN is reporting that 40% of them suffer from stunted growth due to lack of food. Malnutrition is already rampant in the camps.
The vast majority were forced to flee to Bangladesh in 2017, after the Burmese military launched genocidal attacks on the Rohingya population.
Rohingya refugees are not allowed to work to earn their own money and are completely dependent on international aid. In February, the World Food Program announced that they were cutting food provisions to all Rohingya refugees in the camps by 17%. This is because donors like the UK are cutting support. More ration cuts are expected if aid cuts are not reversed.
Burma Campaign UK says Rohingya refugees cannot return to Burma as long as the military clings on to power. They are now locked inside refugee camps in Bangladesh without enough food.
