More than a million Rohingya now live in Bangladesh, concentrated in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, where approximately 32,000 babies are born each year. This humanitarian crisis began in 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal campaign of mass killings, arson, and sexual violence that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya out of Rakhine State.
The United Nations later described the operation as a textbook case of ethnic cleansing. Entire villages were wiped off the map, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee across the eastern border into Bangladesh. Bangladesh is now urging for a sustainable repatriation that ensures lasting solutions, including guaranteed safety, full citizenship, and the protection of fundamental rights.
According to the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for 2021 and 2025, at present, 29 projects, 21 partners, and 13 Bangladeshi NGOs have since withdrawn their humanitarian support. A ReliefWeb report published on 25 August 2025 revealed that the 2025 Joint Response Plan faces a funding shortfall of nearly $500 million, with an additional $84 million required for the latest 150,000 new arrivals. This deficit is forcing the humanitarian community to scale back essential, life-saving services for both the Rohingya refugees and host local communities-while projections for 2026 appear even more alarming.
Bangladesh has hosted the Rohingya for nearly a decade, but the government now warns that it has run out of resources. Only 36% of its nearly $1 billion joint UN funding appeal has been met, pushing the humanitarian response to the brink of collapse. The interim government convened an international conference, urging donors to increase funding and calling for a roadmap to ensure the refugees’ voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation.
Western governments routinely stress the importance of humanitarian access, yet their words are hollow, as actual funding has been declining. The United States, once the largest donor, cut back significantly under the Trump administration. Many international and local NGOs have been forced to shut down operations in Cox’s Bazar, leaving communities without health services, education, or adequate food assistance.
It is undeniably a collective failure that, to date, the UN, OIC, Middle Eastern countries, and other humanitarian organisations have been unable to compel China, the USA, Turkey, India, Pakistan, and other influential actors to press the Myanmar government-both the military junta and in-country rebel groups-for a meaningful repatriation.
The UN agencies like IOM, UNHCR, WFP, etc. should not limit themselves to routine relief work; they must also prioritise accelerating repatriation in alignment with the initiatives of the Bangladesh government by providing funds and technical expertise. Similarly, global humanitarian giants such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) should advocate the issue at the international level, while national organisations like BRAC and Bangladesh Red Crescent Societies (BDRCS) should engage in humanitarian diplomacy domestically to keep the matter alive and urgent.
Until meaningful repatriation is possible, immediate priorities include: Securing funding commitments from international donors to sustain food, healthcare, and education, From the government side, it is urgent to allow and promote more durable shelters and other infrastructure that are fire- and rough-weather-resistant as well, Expanding livelihood programmes such as home-based tailoring and handicrafts – making clothes, bags, embroidery, and handicraft items; small-scale shops and tea stalls; homestead gardening; and kitchen rearing for refugees, tailored by age and gender, to reduce dependency and vulnerability.
Bangladesh has already shown extraordinary solidarity and generosity, but the burden is too great for one country alone. The international community must recognise the Rohingya crisis as a global responsibility. Without renewed political will and financial support, the crisis will not only deepen humanitarian suffering but also pose significant security risks for the region and beyond.Until a dignified repatriation is achieved, we must not lay down our pens; we must continue to draw global attention by portraying the suffering, its dimensions, and the far-reaching impacts of this exodus.
