UN, partners appeal for $710.5mn for Rohingya as return hopes fade amid funding crunch

Funding appeal targets 1.56mn refugees and host community members

The United Nations (UN) and its partners have launched a joint appeal for $710.5 million to meet the critical humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees and their Bangladeshi host communities for 2026, warning that hopes for an imminent return to Myanmar are rapidly fading.

The 2026 update of the Joint Response Plan (JRP), rolled out on Wednesday at the UN House in Dhaka, outlines a "scaled-down, hyper-prioritised" strategy targeting 1.56 million people.

The new financial appeal is 26 percent lower than the budget sought in 2025, representing only the bare minimum required to sustain life-saving operations amid a global crunch in humanitarian funding.

The appeal is supported by 98 humanitarian partners, including 52 Bangladeshi organisations.

It follows a four-day joint high-level donor mission to the Cox’s Bazar camps and host communities by international delegates from Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Under the 2026 JRP, the largest allocation -- $247.3 million -- has been earmarked for food assistance. Shelter support is set to receive $128 million, while water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services have been allocated $61.2 million.

The plan also includes $52.7 million for education and $49.9 million for health services.

Across all sectors, $36.2 million has been allocated for host community support, while livelihoods and skills development programmes are set to receive $35.1 million.

The humanitarian community noted that nearly a decade after fleeing targeted violence and persecution in Myanmar, some 1.2 million Rohingya refugees now reside in Bangladesh.

The crisis still continues to escalate.

Ongoing conflict inside Myanmar’s Rakhine State has forced an additional 150,000 Rohingya to cross into Bangladesh since early 2024, severely straining already depleted resources, a media statement said.

With stability in Myanmar nowhere in sight, the UN warned that the refugee population is growing increasingly desperate.

"As conflict inside Rakhine State continues, hopes for an imminent return to Myanmar are fading. As conditions worsen, more refugees resort to desperate choices, including dangerous and often deadly sea journeys in search of opportunities elsewhere in the region. 2025 was the deadliest year on record for such voyages—just last month, a vessel carrying more than 270 people, many of them refugees, capsized, leaving only nine survivors," said the statement.

In 2025, about 35 percent of camp households relied entirely on humanitarian food aid, 42 percent had access only to temporary, unstable income, and a mere 23 percent could earn money through official cash-for-work programmes, according to it.

The UN emphasised that this lack of economic opportunity is taking an especially heavy toll on highly vulnerable groups, particularly women, girls, elderly people, and persons with disabilities.

Since the influx began in 2017 until the end of 2025, the international community has provided nearly $5.42 billion in humanitarian funding for the Rohingya response, according to statement.

While this funding has allowed Bangladesh to maintain vital health, education, and protection services, officials warned that these hard-won gains could easily slip away without sustained global backing.

Speaking at the launch event, Kelly T Clements, deputy high commissioner of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stressed the urgent need to foster refugee self-reliance.

“As resources become more limited, it is more important than ever to help refugees build skills and resilience, so they can gain independence, hold on to hope, and rebuild their lives,” Clements was quoted by the statement.

“Until the Rohingya can return home in safety and can rebuild their communities there, we must continue to provide safety, care, and dignity where they are,” she said.

Rania Dagash-Kamara, assistant executive director for Partnerships and Innovation at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), expressed gratitude to the host nation and international donors while reiterating that aid cannot be a permanent fix.

The JRP presentation ceremony was attended by Bangladesh's Acting Foreign Secretary Forhadul Islam, UN Resident Coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak, alongside the visiting senior UN leadership.