World Food Program to Cut Aid to Rohingya Camps

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Facts

  • On Friday, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced that it would be cutting funding for food assistance to the Rohingya refugees living in Bangladeshi camps. If donations don't increase, additional cuts will be made beginning in April.1
  • The Rohingya are a population of mostly Muslim people from the Rakhine state in Myanmar. In 2017, facing military persecution and alleged ethnic cleansing, nearly 730K Rohingya escaped to Bangladesh; today, close to 1M refugees currently live there in abject conditions while awaiting repatriation.2
  • On March 1, the program plans to reduce its daily allowance from $12 per person to $10 per person resulting in a 17% reduction in the total allowance. The WFP has requested $125M in donations to aid in the continued fight against malnutrition, especially for children in the camps.3
  • In a joint statement, UN officials Michael Fakhri and Tom Andrews said, 'If these cuts are made, they will be imposed on vulnerable people who are already food insecure.'3
  • Experts have also warned that further food insecurity could increase the danger within the camps by fueling violence and unrest. Human trafficking of children could increase and more refugees may be forced into dangerous sea journeys.4
  • The latest boat journey for the Rohingya landed in the Aceh province of Indonesia on Thursday, carrying 69 refugees.2

Sources: 1Bnn breaking, 2Reuters, 3Al Jazeera and 4Ohchr.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Unb.bd. The international community has offered many words on justice for the Rohingya and the accountability of the Myanmar military. The refugees need more than words, they need action. Every day that they suffer under the weight of hunger, malnutrition and the dangers of the camps creates long-lasting and generational consequences that could be avoided. Governments worldwide need to step up and fund this urgent appeal.
  • Narrative B, as provided by CNN. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and others in a small group of the world's most wealthy could solve the world's hunger problem. $6B is needed to change the hunger crisis for 42M people. Musk alone is worth $289B and just 2% of his accumulated wealth could save the lives of people who will die without aid. This abject humanitarian catastrophe could be addressed if the '1%' stepped up to the plate.