Bangladesh: 35% of Rohingya Refugees Face ‘Crisis ’or ‘Emergency’ Hunger as Conditions for Children Worsen

Conditions in the world’s largest refugee settlement are worsening at an alarming rate after nine years, with 35% of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh expected to face ‘crisis’ or ‘emergency’ hunger levels this year, putting more children at risk of malnutrition.^[1]

Nine years after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled attacks and violence in Myanmar, an entire generation of Rohingya children has grown up in displacement, and many children know nothing but life inside the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh.

Global humanitarian funding cuts, compounded by the resulting reductions in food rations over the past year, have exacerbated existing challenges which include overcrowded living conditions and limited access to clean water, nutritious food and livelihoods. This has forced many Rohingya to try to leave the camps by often perilous sea journeys.

From September to December this year the food security situation is expected to get worse for the more than 1 million people living in about 30 camps in Cox’s Bazar, with just over 25% classified in IPC Phase 3, or crisis hunger level, or above, and 10% facing ‘emergency’ hunger levels.^[2]

For Ramida*, 30, a Rohingya refugee who lives in the camps with her husband and five children, including son Rakib*, 3, surviving is a constant challenge.

Ramida* said:

“Before my child (Rakib) was born and when he was in my womb, my husband didn’t have enough money and because of this, I couldn’t eat as I wanted to and I couldn’t get what I needed.”

Rakib was born at a low weight and often got sick as he got older. He was referred to Save the Children’s Maternal and Child Health Hospital in the camp where he was diagnosed and treated for severe acute malnutrition.

Maternal malnutrition places their infants at a greater likelihood of suffering from low birthweight and malnutrition which significantly increases the risk of child mortality or lifelong health issues into adulthood.

Save the Children provides nutrition screening and treatment, maternal nutrition support, and infant and young child feeding counselling and support inside the camps.

Golam Mostofa, Head of Cox’s Bazar Area Office, Save the Children Bangladesh, said:

“Nine years after the mass displacement of the Rohingya, an entire generation of children is growing up in exile. Yet instead of seeing progress towards safety, rights and a lasting solution, families are facing worsening hunger, fewer opportunities and deepening uncertainty about their future.

“Hunger and malnutrition is not simply the result of a lack of food. It is the consequence of a crisis that has been allowed to continue unresolved for nearly a decade. Rohingya children need more than survival. They need protection, education, dignity and a genuine pathway to a better future.”

Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar are facing a severe humanitarian, climate, and security crisis inside the camps where children make up more than half of the population. ^[3]

To make matters worse, landslides in July triggered by monsoon rains killed 10 children, including students and a teacher.

These conditions push some refugees to embark on dangerous boat journeys in search of a better life in other countries, despite known risks including abuse at the hands of smugglers and traffickers and drowning at sea.

A record number of about 900 Rohingya, including children [4], were reported missing or dead at sea in 2025.

Save the Children provides nutrition screening and treatment for women, children, and others with nutritional vulnerability alongside health and protection services. A new Maternal and Child Hospital provides 24-hour inpatient care for children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and medical complications.

While treatment can save the lives of children with acute malnutrition, preventing children from becoming malnourished in the first place requires families to have reliable access to nutritious food, clean water and healthcare, and there are gaps in these services due to funding cuts.

Save the Children calls on the international community to close the humanitarian funding gap and urges governments to protect refugee rights and demonstrate greater urgency in advancing solutions that offer Rohingya families a future beyond indefinite displacement.

Save the Children has been working in Cox’s Bazar since 2012 and increased its activities following the 2017 exodus of refugees to Bangladesh.

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Notes:

[1] IPC: https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/en/?country=BGD

* According to the IPC scale, a monitoring system for assessing hunger emergencies, Phase 3 is a crisis, Phase 4 is an emergency.

[2] https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/bangladesh-ipc-acute-food-insecurity-and-acute-malnutrition-analysis-may-december-2026-issued-30-june-2026

[3] https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/bgd/591

[4] https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167320

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