As Rohingyas fear more food cuts, UN chief Antonio Guterres in Bangladesh

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres is getting a first-hand look at the situation of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as fears mount over serious aid cuts across the world following Washington's decision to shut down USAID operations.

Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain welcomed Guterres at Dhaka's main airport on Thursday, 13 March.

Guterres's four-day visit — his second to Bangladesh — is seen as crucial after the announcement of possible aid cuts by the World Food Programme (WFP) and others in the aftermath of the USAID shutdown.

Bangladesh's interim government — which came to power last August after a mass uprising ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina — hopes the visit will boost international efforts to mobilise aid for the Rohingya refugees and attract new global attention to their crisis.

A letter from the UN food agency earlier this month said cuts to food rations could take effect from next month at Cox's Bazar, home to dozens of camps housing Rohingya refugees. The WFP said the food rations could be reduced to USD 6, from the current USD 12.50 per month — unless adequate funding is secured.

According to WFP spokesperson Kun Li, if the WFP is unable to secure sufficient funding — USD 81 million to sustain operations through to the end of the year, including USD 15 million needed for April alone — it will have no choice but to reduce rations, starting April.

Ahead of Guterres' visit, Amnesty International urged the international community to urgently step up and deliver the necessary support to avoid the devastating impact on the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

“The funding shortfall will only exacerbate the existing desperate shortage of essential supplies and services in the camps," said Smriti Singh, regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.

“The Rohingya community in Cox's Bazaar have little alternative but to rely on WFP aid," Singh said, adding that the Bangladesh government prohibits the refugees from leaving the camps and finding jobs.

Guterres and Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus are to visit Cox's Bazar district on Friday, 14 March. On Saturday, the two will hold talks at Yunus' office in Dhaka, the country's capital, and jointly talk to reporters afterward.

Bangladesh's interim government has said that the end of USAID payments would stop other projects in the country, but that funding for Rohingya refugees would continue to flow.

The US has been the top donor to Bangladesh for Rohingya refugees, providing the United Nations with emergency food and nutrition assistance. The US usually provides almost half of the aid money spent on the humanitarian response to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which provided about USD 300 million in 2024.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have lived in Bangladesh for decades and about 70,000 crossed the border from Myanmar in 2024. During fighting with the military junta, the opposition force known as the Arakan Army effectively took over the Rakhine state, from where the Rohingya were displaced and took shelter in Bangladesh and India.

Bangladesh says repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar, which has been accused in an international court of genocide against Rohingya, is the ultimate solution of the crisis, but complexities over verification and other diplomatic and political issues have made the future of the refugees bleak.