The United States’ 90-day freeze on USAID programs is threatening critical services in Bangladesh's Rohingya refugee camps, where essential food, health, and sanitation programs face disruption and closing down.
This latest blow comes as the humanitarian response in Cox's Bazar faces its lowest funding levels since 2018, compounded by Myanmar's escalating civil war and rising violence within the camps. With over a million refugees dependent on aid, the funding uncertainty is pushing an already fragile situation toward crisis.
The USAID freeze is straining humanitarian operations, with Rohingya refugees and aid workers reporting the shutdown of several hospitals in the camps and potential disruptions to key health and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs.
About the author
Masum BillahBillahTalks
Masum Billah is an award-winning journalist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, covering human rights, politics, migration, climate, and environment, as well as the economy. His pieces have appeared in The Guardian, Nikkei Asia, South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera English, and VICE, among others. You can find him on the social media platform X @BillahTalks.
