C T Online Desk: Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) expresses its deep concern over the recent decision of the United Nations (UN) to cut food aid to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh due to a funding shortfall.
Most humanitarian and human rights organizations, including prominent UN entities have warned that this harsh decision would deepen food insecurity and malnutrition in the world’s largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh, with more than a third of children are stunted and underweight, according to a press release issued on Thursday.
The plan of World Food Program (WFP) to reduce the value of its food assistance from $12 per person to $10 per person starting in a few weeks just before Ramadan is shocking. It will have devastating effect on the Rohingya refugees who have been living in dire conditions for years.
Therefore, ARNA urges upon the United Nations with the international community:
- To review this harsh decision of the UN and take necessary measures to ensure that the
Rohingya refugees receive the assistance they desperately need.
- To step up their support for the Rohingya people and their refugees by timely responding with essential supplies that help them and their children survive and recover from trauma.
- In this trying situation, it is the utmost to exert effective pressure on the Myanmar military and authorities to stop atrocity crimes and ensure voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of all Rohingya refugees, to their original homes and places in Arakan with suitable reparation.
