US aid cuts to affect 1m refugees in Bangladesh

‘This may lead to a lack of nutrition. There will be social and mental pressure created amongst the Rohingya people in their community, says official

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Rohingya refugees in crammed Bangladeshi camps say they are worried about a US decision to cut food rations by half beginning next month, while a refugee official says the reduction will impact the nutrition of more than 1 million refugees and create “social and mental pressure.”

President Donald Trump abruptly stopped most foreign aid and dismantled the US Agency for International Development, which has significantly hampered the global humanitarian sector. Trump’s Jan.20 executive order froze the funding for a 90-day review.

The World Food Program, the main UN food agency, recently announced that cuts to food rations will take effect from April 1 in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where dozens of camps are inhabited by Rohingya refugees.

It was not immediately clear if the WFP's decision was directly related to the Trump administration's action.

“We received a letter that (says) previously it was $12.50, and now it is $6. They used to get $12.50 per month, and from now $6, this will greatly affect them,” Shamsud Douza, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner of Bangladesh, said.