Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
The humanitarian situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Arakan during October and November 2025 represents a highly complex challenge, combining severe funding shortages, the deterioration of basic services, escalating seasonal risks, and ongoing serious violations in Myanmar.
Millions of Rohingya live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, exposed to malnutrition, limited healthcare, lack of education, and increasingly fragile infrastructure and basic facilities. At the same time, Rohingya communities in Arakan face violence, including landmine explosions, forced labor, compulsory recruitment, and attempts to erase their cultural and religious identity, driving many to undertake dangerous maritime journeys in search of safety.
1. Situation of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Funding and Food Supplies
During October and November 2025, the biggest challenge facing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remained the funding gap threatening the continuation of basic aid.
The World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that a lack of funding could force it to reduce monthly food rations from $12.50 to $6 per person, reducing families’ ability to secure sufficient and varied meals, and increasing reliance on low-nutrition foods.
Despite some emergency contributions from donors, including previous U.S. commitments, WFP’s needs are estimated at $60 million over six months and $167 million over a year. The funding gap remains substantial, putting the continuity of food rations at medium-term risk.
Nutrition and Health Services
The nutritional situation of Rohingya children is particularly concerning, with UNICEF documenting a 27% increase in children admitted for severe acute malnutrition.
This deterioration is directly linked to reductions in food rations, increasing pressure on therapeutic feeding facilities. Any additional cuts or suspension of food support will directly increase cases of malnutrition and negatively affect children’s health and development.
Funding shortages have also affected health services in the camps, with reductions in primary care visits, vaccination programs, and support for treating chronic illnesses. Tens of thousands of refugees could face disruptions in these essential services if the situation persists, with direct negative impacts on children, pregnant women, and the elderly, who are among the most vulnerable.
Education and Infrastructure
UNICEF warned that the severe funding crisis could lead to the collapse of education programs by 2026, potentially depriving around 350,000 children of schooling.
Field surveys indicate that only 3% of school-age Rohingya girls receive education in the camps, despite females comprising more than half of all children of school age, reflecting a significant gap in educational access.
Regarding infrastructure, reduced support for maintaining pathways, stabilizing slopes, and servicing water and sanitation facilities has made camps more vulnerable to flooding and landslides, particularly during the rainy season.
An increase in the number of people per facility has lowered hygiene levels and raised the risk of waterborne diseases, further exacerbating the humanitarian fragility.
Appeals and Financial Needs
The United Nations and its partners launched an appeal of $934.5 million to secure essential aid for approximately 1.48–1.5 million people during 2025–2026.
The international community is warned that failure to mobilize funding will lead to widespread reductions in food, healthcare, education, protection, and water services, with severe humanitarian and social consequences, including increased hunger, deteriorating child health, and greater desperation for livelihoods.
Human Rights and Social Observations
Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, warned that cuts in aid increase the suffering of refugees who have no alternatives and called on the international community to increase funding and develop policies that economically empower refugees rather than keeping them dependent solely on aid.
2. Situation of Rohingya in Arakan State
Landmine Incidents
Almost daily landmine explosions continued across cities in Arakan State due to the conflict between the Myanmar army and Buddhist Arakan militias (Arakan Army), resulting in the deaths of dozens of Rohingya civilians. These incidents represent a persistent threat to residents’ lives and increase internal displacement.
Compulsory Recruitment and Forced Labor
Arakan militias continued to force Rohingya into labor for constructing military fortifications and digging trenches without pay under threat of violence or arrest, as documented by Fortify Rights in an October report.
The militias also forced hundreds of Rohingya youth and girls to perform compulsory military service, threatening those who refused with detention and torture, and requiring each Rohingya village to send 150–200 men and women for recruitment.
Erasure of Cultural and Religious Identity
Arakan militias destroyed two historic mosques in Buthidaung, in what was seen as an attempt to erase the cultural and religious identity of the Rohingya, reflecting escalating efforts at exclusion and cultural cleansing.
Maritime Flight and Risks
As the situation deteriorated, Rohingya continued undertaking dangerous maritime journeys in search of a better life. The latest tragedies included a boat carrying 70 people that sank off the coasts of Malaysia and Thailand, resulting in at least 27 deaths and dozens missing, along with two other boats carrying 230 Rohingya whose fate remains unknown.
