The United States, through USAID and the U.S. State Department, is providing $30.5 million in additional funds to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and the region. With Bangladesh continuing to host nearly one million refugees from Burma, the majority of whom belong to the Rohingya ethnic minority group, this funding is critical to meeting immediate needs of vulnerable refugees living in crowded refugee camps.
This funding will support U.S. government partners, including UNHCR, IFRC, IOM, and UNICEF to provide life-saving protection, healthcare, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), and nutrition assistance, as well as vital malnutrition treatment to children through Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF). RUTF is specifically formulated for the nutritional rehabilitation of children from six months to five years of age suffering from severe acute malnutrition and wasting.
In addition, USAID is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation to purchase, transport, and distribute surplus U.S. agriculture commodities to provide critical emergency food aid to people in need in Bangladesh.
The U.S. government has provided nearly $2.4 billion for the Rohingya response since August 2017, including nearly $2 billion in Bangladesh. We remain committed to delivering assistance to crisis-affected communities in Burma, Bangladesh, and the region, but much more is needed. We urge other donors to join us in providing additional assistance to vulnerable populations in both countries. More information on USAID’s lifesaving work can be found here.