Foreign aid cuts hurt the most vulnerable in world’s largest refugee camp

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh – The dependable of children astatine play echoes done the verdant lanes of 1 of the dozens of exile camps connected the outskirts of Cox’s Bazar, a densely populated coastal municipality successful southeast Bangladesh.

Just for a moment, the sounds negociate to soften the harsh surviving conditions faced by the much than 1 cardinal radical who unrecorded present successful the world’s largest exile camp.

Described arsenic the astir persecuted radical connected the planet, the Rohingya Muslim refugees successful Bangladesh whitethorn present beryllium 1 of the astir forgotten populations successful the world, 8 years aft being ethnically cleansed from their homes successful neighbouring Myanmar by a predominantely Buddhist subject regime.

“Cox’s Bazar is crushed zero for the interaction of fund cuts connected radical successful hopeless need,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a sojourn to the sprawling camps successful May.

The UN chief’s sojourn followed United States President Donald Trump’s gutting of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has stalled respective cardinal projects successful the camps, and the United Kingdom announcing cuts to overseas assistance successful bid to summation defence spending.

Healthcare successful the camps has suffered arsenic the severe blows to foreign assistance bite.

‘They telephone maine “langhra” (lame)’

Seated extracurricular his makeshift bamboo hut, Jahid Alam told Al Jazeera how, earlier being forced to go a refugee, helium had worked arsenic a husbandman and besides fished for a surviving successful the Napura portion of his autochthonal Myanmar. It was backmost then, successful 2016, that helium archetypal noticed his limb swell up for nary evident reason.

“I was farming and abruptly felt this aggravated impulse to itch my near leg,” Alam said. “My limb soon turned reddish and began swelling up. I rushed location and tried to enactment immoderate crystal connected it. But it didn’t help.”

A section doc prescribed an ointment, but the itch continued, and truthful did the swelling.

He soon recovered it hard to basal oregon locomotion and could nary longer work, becoming babelike connected his household members.

A twelvemonth later, erstwhile Myanmar’s subject began burning Rohingya homes successful his colony and torturing the women, helium decided to nonstop his household to Bangladesh.

Alam stayed down to look aft the cows connected his land. But the subject soon threatened him into leaving excessively and joining his household successful neighbouring Bangladesh.

The 53-year-old has been treated by Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, successful the Kutupalong portion of Cox’s Bazar since arriving, but amputation of his limb seems likely. While immoderate doctors person said helium has Elephantiasis – an corruption that causes enlargement and swelling of limbs – a last diagnosis is yet to beryllium made.

Along with the disease, Alam has to besides woody with stigma owed to his disability.

“They telephone maine ‘langhra’(lame) erstwhile they spot I can’t locomotion properly,” helium said.

But, helium adds: “If God has fixed maine this illness and disability, helium besides gave maine the accidental to travel to this campy and effort to recover. In the adjacent aboriginal I cognize I tin commencement a caller and amended life.”

Jahid Alam astatine the Cox’s Bazar exile camp, Bangladesh [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]

‘The connection “Amma” gives maine hope’

Seated successful a dimly lit country successful a tiny hut astir a 10-minute locomotion from Alam’s shelter, Jahena Begum hopes assistance organisations volition proceed supporting the camps and peculiarly radical with disabilities.

Her girl Sumaiya Akter, 23, and sons, Harez, 19, and Ayas, 21, are unsighted and person a cognitive disablement that prevents them from speaking clearly. They are mostly unaware of their surroundings.

“Their imaginativeness dilatory began fading arsenic they became teenagers,” Begum says.

“It was precise hard to watch, and healthcare facilities successful Myanmar could not help,” said the 50-year-old parent arsenic she patted her daughter’s leg.

The young miss giggled, unaware of what was going connected astir her.

Begum’s household arrived successful Cox’s Bazar astir 9 months agone aft the subject successful Myanmar burned their location down.

“We made it to the camps with the assistance of relatives. But beingness has been precise hard for me,” said Begum, telling however she had single-handedly brought up her children since her husband’s decease 8 years ago.

Doctors from MSF person fixed her children spectacles and person begun moving scans to recognize the basal origin of their disability.

“Right now, they explicit everything by making sounds. But the 1 connection they speak, which is ‘Amma’, meaning mother, shows maine that they astatine slightest recognise me,” Begum said.

“The connection ‘Amma’ gives maine anticipation and spot to proceed trying to dainty them. I privation a amended aboriginal for my children.”

Jahena Begum, archetypal left, with her 3 children, Sumaiya Akter, 2nd from left, Ayas, 3rd from left, and Harez, right, during an interrogation successful Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, earlier this period [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]

‘The symptom isn’t conscionable carnal – it’s emotional’

Clad successful a bluish and pinkish striped collared garment and a striped brownish longyi – the cloth woven astir the waist and worn by men and women successful Myanmar – Anowar Shah told of fleeing Myanmar to prevention his life, connected apical of losing a limb to a excavation blast.

Shah said helium was collecting firewood successful his hometown Labada Prian Chey successful Myanmar when his limb was blown disconnected by the landmine past year.

Myanmar is among the world’s deadliest countries for landmine and unexploded ordnance casualties, according to a 2024 UN report, with much than 1,000 victims recorded successful 2023 unsocial – a fig that surpassed each different nations.

“Those were the longest, astir achy days of my life,” said the 25-year-old Shah, who present needs crutches to get around.

“Losing my limb shattered everything. I went from being idiosyncratic who provided and protected, to idiosyncratic who depends connected others conscionable to get done the day. I can’t determination freely, can’t work, can’t adjacent execute elemental tasks alone,” helium said.

“I consciousness similar I’ve go a load to the radical I love. The symptom isn’t conscionable carnal – it’s emotional, it’s deep. I support asking myself, ‘Why did this hap to me?’”

Anowar Shah is simply a unfortunate of a landmine detonation successful Myanmar and lives successful a exile campy successful Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh [Courtesy of Anowar Shah]

More than 30 refugees successful the camps successful Bangladesh person mislaid limbs successful landmine explosions, leaving them disabled and babelike connected others.

All parties to the equipped struggle successful Myanmar person utilized landmines successful immoderate capacity, said John Quinley, manager of rights organisation Fortify Rights, successful Myanmar.

“We cognize the Myanmar junta has utilized landmines implicit galore years to bolster their bases. They besides laic them successful civilian areas astir villages and towns that they person occupied and fled,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Abdul Hashim, 25, who resides successful Camp 21 successful Cox’s Bazar, described however stepping connected a landmine successful February 2024 “drastically altered his life”.

“I person go babelike connected others for adjacent the simplest regular tasks. Once an progressive contributor to my family, I present consciousness similar a burden,” helium said.

Since arriving successful the camp, Hashim has been successful a rehabilitation programme astatine the Turkish Field Hospital wherever helium receives medicine and carnal rehabilitation that involves equilibrium exercises, stump care, and hygiene education.

He has besides been assessed for a prosthetic limb which presently costs astir 50,000 Bangladeshi Taka ($412). The outgo for specified limbs is borne by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“Despite the trauma and hardship, I clasp onto immoderate hope. I imagination of receiving a prosthetic limb soon, which would let maine to regain immoderate independency and find enactment to enactment my family,” Hashim said.

So far, a full of 14 prosthetic limbs person been distributed and fitted for campy inhabitants by the assistance radical Humanity & Inclusion, who person expertise successful producing the limbs successful orthotic workshops extracurricular the exile camps.

Both Hashim and Shah are a portion of the organisation’s rehabilitation programme, which has been providing gait grooming to assistance them accommodate to the future, regular usage of prosthetic limbs.

Tough decisions for assistance workers

Seeking to guarantee refugees successful the camps are good supported and tin unrecorded amended lives aft fleeing persecution, assistance workers are presently having to marque pugnacious decisions owed to overseas assistance cuts.

“We are having to determine betwixt feeding radical and providing acquisition and healthcare owed to assistance cuts,” a Bangladeshi healthcare idiosyncratic who requested anonymity, for fearfulness his remark could jeopardise aboriginal assistance from the US, told Al Jazeera. 

Quinley of Fortify Rights pointed retired that portion determination are immense backing gaps due to the fact that of the assistance cuts, the Rohingya exile effect should not autumn connected immoderate 1 authorities and should beryllium a corporate determination responsibility.

“There needs to beryllium a determination response, peculiarly for countries successful Southeast Asia, to springiness funding,” helium said.

“Countries connected to the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) successful the Middle East could besides springiness a batch much meaningful support,” helium said.

He besides recommended moving with section humanitarian partners, “whether it’s Bangladeshi nationals oregon whether it’s Rohingya exile groups themselves” since they cognize however to assistance their communities the best.

“Their quality to entree radical that request enactment is astatine the forefront, and they should beryllium supported from governments worldwide,” helium said.

For the estimated 1 cardinal refugees successful Cox’s Bazar, urgent enactment is needed astatine this time, erstwhile funds turn ever scarce.

According to a Joint Response Plan drawn up for the Rohingya, successful 2024, conscionable 30 percent of backing was received of a full $852.4m that was needed by the refugees.

As of May 2025, against an wide entreaty for $934.5m for the refugees, conscionable 15 percent received funding.

Cutting the assistance budgets for the camps is simply a “short-sighted policy”, said Blandine Bouniol, lawman manager of advocacy astatine Humanity & Inclusion humanitarian group.

It will, Bouniol said, “have a devastating interaction connected people”.

People locomotion past a partition topped with barbed ligament astatine a Rohingya exile campy successful Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]