Dhaka, December 11, 2017 – On December 6, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded $7.5 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) under the Food for Peace Act to improve the nutritional status of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. With this new award, the U.S. Government has provided over $90 million to assist Rohingya refugees since August 24. Over 625,000 Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar since August 25.

USAID Mission Director, Janina Jaruzelski, noted that, “USAID is pleased to support the Government of Bangladesh’s commendable efforts to assist the Rohingya refugees by funding this nutrition assistance.” She also emphasized that “this partnership with UNICEF will alleviate suffering and make a real difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable people among the refugee population: children. No child anywhere should suffer from malnutrition.”

To improve the nutrition status of impacted refugees, UNICEF will implement a Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition program that includes the use of ready-to-use therapeutic foods in treatment. The program will treat approximately 66,000 children under-five who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Acute nutrition needs have been identified among 348,000 children under-five, 36,000 pregnant women, 84,000 lactating women, and 204,000 adolescent girls among the refugee population. The scale of the recent influx, as well as the large number of children among the refugee population, has complicated efforts to address the crisis.

The U.S. Government, through USAID, has provided more than $7 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since 1971. In 2016, USAID provided nearly $200 million to improve the lives of people in Bangladesh through programs that expand food security and economic opportunity, improve health and education, promote democratic institutions and practices, protect the environment, and increase resiliency to climate change.