The UN’s migration agency reinstated its largest programme to provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Indonesia, following massive funding cuts which were a fallout of Donald Trump’s suspension of the USAID programme.
The chief of the International Organization for Migration confirmed on Wednesday that there will be no planned cuts in their aid work for Rohingya refugees in the city of Pekanbaru, on the western island of Sumatra.
"Our largest programme to provide humanitarian assistance has been reinstated. I can confirm there is no current planned reduction in services," Jeff Labovitz told Reuters.
IOM said it "explored various options in response to potential funding challenges" and that they will be able to continue its humanitarian work as the necessary resources remain available.
Many Rohingya – mostly Muslim and originally from Myanmar – make up the world's largest stateless population which has been fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Thousands of men and women have escaped into Bangladesh, which hosts the largest population of Rohingya Muslims.
Each year, hundreds of people escape out of these overcrowded camps in Bangladesh risking dangerous boat journeys to Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
There are about 2,800 Rohingya in Indonesia, the UN says.
Last week, the UN agency IOM said it slashed its aid to the refugees in Indonesia, according to a letter dated 28 February. The cut directly affected healthcare and cash assistance to 925 Rohingya refugees sheltering in Pekanbaru "due to resource constraints".
The move was one of the latest impact of Trump administration’s decision to cut most foreign assistance and dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The cut by Washington had an impact globally on US-funded programmes and abruptly ended many lifesaving care programmes for Rohingya refugees, as the US had been the top donor to the refugee response since 2017.
In a similar development, the UN’s food was on its way to slash food rations for Rohingya refugees by more than half from April in Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, causing an alarm among charities.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh's chair for the agency overseeing the refugee camps, told The Independent that the World Food Program (WFP) confirmed they would cut the monthly food ration funding to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar by half, which will lead to “grave consequences for the community”.
