US Disburses New Aid Worth IDR 1.2 Trillion For Rohingya Refugees

JAKARTA - The United States on Thursday (27/3) announced new US$73 million (around Rp1.2 trillion) assistance for Rohingya refugees, amid the United Nations (UN) call for the international community to increase humanitarian funding.

A spokesman for the US State Department, Tammy Bruce, stated through platform X that this assistance will be distributed through the World Food Program (WFP).

"This food and nutrition assistance will provide much-needed support for more than one million people. It is very important for international partners to share their responsibilities in providing life-saving assistance like this," Bruce said, as reported by Antara.

Bangladesh currently hosts more than 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, who fled due to Myanmar's military crackdown in 2017.

According to the US State Department, the United States is the largest contributor to Rohingya refugees, with a total aid of nearly US$2.4 billion (around Rp39.6 trillion) since 2017.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who recently visited the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, called for global support to ensure adequate funding to prevent further suffering.

Guterres warned that without sufficient funding, conditions in refugee camps could worsen, causing more suffering and even death.

Previously, WFP announced that it should cut monthly food aid for Rohingya refugees from 12.50 US dollars (approximately Rp206,250) to 6 US dollars (approximately Rp99,000) per person starting April 1, unless emergency funds are available soon.

However, on Thursday evening, Bangladesh Refugee, Assistance and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman told Anadolu that the WFP had reviewed the decision.

Citing a letter from WFP, Rahman stated that the agency had "relocated allocations" to 12 US dollars per refugee in Cox's Bazar and 13 US dollars (around Rp. 214,500) per refugee in Bhashan Char.

Until now, there has been no official statement from any UN agency regarding this revision, either in Dhaka, Geneva, or New York.