Bangladesh: Massive funding shortfalls put Rohingya refugees at risk of an acute malnutrition crisis

"Young children will be particularly at risk to the permanent effects of stunting on one hand, whereby their growth essentially stops owing to a lack of food, and on the other, also being more prone to illnesses while malnourished. Adults, many of whom are looking after children or elderly family members, will likely be forced to engage in negative coping mechanisms, from limiting their own diets to feed their families to pursuing exploitative income-generating activities.

This announcement comes at a time when people who recently arrived in the camps are already dependent on other people’s food rations to survive. In the words of Rahima, who recently fled violence in Myanmar and is sheltering with extended family in the camps, 'I’m a burden. They share their meager food with me.’

Masuda, another Rohingya woman, told us how the rations she and her family get, even now, are never enough."

"The Rohingya have been kept in a situation of donor dependency. Donors, governments, and international agencies must help close the (USD) $81 million funding gap. We’re calling on donors to pledge emergency funds by April to secure vital food rations for refugees, for governments to ramp up short-term humanitarian aid to meet urgent needs, and for international agencies to join forces with the food security and nutrition agencies to ensure resources are deployed swiftly and transparently.

We know today it is going to be harder than ever to mobilise these resources but a way must be found because to withhold humanitarian assistance from a population that have been deliberately kept dependent on it is really unconscionable.”