Eight Years On: Rohingya Women and Girls Need the World’s Support More Than Ever

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh - The 25th of August marks eight years since the start of the Rohingya refugee crisis. It is a tragic observance – but also an illustration of the successes that can be achieved through global solidarity in humanitarian catastrophes.

UNFPA programmes in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char Island stand as examples of the life-saving impacts of humanitarian aid, reaching thousands of women and young people through services funded by multiple donors, including the Governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, as well as the Asian Development Bank, Central Emergency Response Fund, the Global Programme to End Child Marriage, KOICA, SIDA and the World Bank. 

In 2024 alone, over 335,000 people accessed life-saving sexual and reproductive health and rights services in Rohingya camps and host communities. Nearly 92,000 adolescents and caregivers in Cox’s Bazar were reached with adolescent and youth programmes, while 535,000 individuals were engaged in community mobilization efforts against gender-based violence.  

Yet today,  there is a crisis in global humanitarian funding, which places these critical programmes and services for Rohingya women, girls and young people at risk. 

Midwifery services critical

In the densely populated camps, pregnancy and childbirth are fraught with risk. With donor support, UNFPA has been able to support skilled midwives, emergency obstetric care and safe delivery services. Fariza, who recently gave birth at a UNFPA-supported facility, shared: “The midwives stayed by my side the whole time. They made sure I was safe, and my baby was healthy.”

Concerningly, funding for these critical services is running short. Only one third of the 2025 joint appeal for humanitarian funding, issued by the Government, United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, has yet been secured.

If these funding gaps are not filled, an estimated 315,000 women of reproductive age could lose access to antenatal, family planning and safe delivery services in 2026. An additional 300,000 survivors of gender-based violence could lose access to clinical management of rape and mental and psychosocial support. An estimated 55,000 young people and their caregivers risk losing essential learning opportunities that include adolescent health and life skills.

More arrivals – and needs

The situation has been compounded by the arrival of nearly 150,000 Rohingya refugees so far this year, further straining already overcrowded shelters and increasing vulnerabilities. As basic services come under intensified pressure, many refugees are being forced into harmful coping mechanisms, including child marriage.

“We have funding to sustain our programmes until the end of this year. However, starting from 2026, critical life-saving services will be under risk of stopping if funding is not secured,” Catherine Breen Kamkong, UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh, warned. “It means thousands of lives lost – mothers in childbirth, newborns in their first moments, women and girls left unprotected from violence and abuse. The international community must not turn away.”

Rohingya refugees themselves echo this appeal. “We are strong, but we cannot do this alone,” said a young refugee leader.