In the world’s largest refugee camp, Trump’s USAID freeze makes a bad situation worse

It is a typical weekday at the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where dozens of women and men from the persecuted Rohingya community are pushing their way to the front of the line to get their official aid registration cards processed. The camp, which houses more than a million people, has been a safe haven for those fleeing the brutal military crackdown in Myanmar.

However, recent developments have thrown the camp into chaos. The U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing most foreign aid for 90 days has left many aid organizations scrambling to figure out how to provide essential services to the refugees. The sudden halt in funding has forced NGOs like Agrajattra to shut down their programs, leaving thousands of refugees without access to vital health services.

Abu Osman, a program manager at Agrajattra, expressed his concerns about the impact of the funding freeze on the camp. He mentioned that the closure of their program has led to a significant decrease in the number of pregnant women able to access hospital care. The situation is dire, with many refugees like Roshida, eight months pregnant and living in the camp for over seven years, left wondering where they will give birth without the support they once had.

The fear and uncertainty caused by the funding freeze have permeated the camp, with families like Muhammad Khan’s feeling the effects. Muhammad, a 13-year-old suffering from a rare degenerative nerve disorder, was left without treatment for days after the order was signed. His mother, Yasmin, worries about the future and whether the nurses caring for her son will disappear once again.

The U.S. has long been a significant donor to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, providing over half of the foreign funding earmarked for the refugees last year. The sudden cuts have left many aid workers and refugees alike anxious about what will happen next. The situation is further complicated by ongoing legal battles over the executive order, with no clear timeline for when the funding will be reinstated.

Despite the challenges, aid organizations and the government of Bangladesh are working tirelessly to fill the gaps left by the funding freeze. The hope is that the U.S. will reconsider its decision and restore the much-needed support to the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. Until then, the refugees and aid workers at the camp continue to face an uncertain future, with their basic needs hanging in the balance.