Australia, UNICEF ink $11.4m deal for Rohingyas

Australia has committed US$11.4 million (AUD16 million) in multi-year funding to UNICEF to sustain life-saving support for Rohingya children and host communities in Bangladesh amid growing funding shortages threatening essential services for refugees.

The funding commitment for 2026-2028 was announced during a meeting with the Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the Secretariat on Wednesday, said a press release.

Extending his gratitude to the Australian government, the home minister expressed hope that such assistance from Australia and the wider international community would continue until the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is achieved.

According to UNICEF, the contribution, which began in April this year, will help ensure that children in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char continue to receive critical health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and protection services, where humanitarian needs remain acute and resources are increasingly stretched.

“Australia remains committed to supporting Rohingya and host communities in Bangladesh as the crisis continues,” said Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Susan Ryle.

“This contribution will help ensure that children have access to essential services, protection and education,” she added.

For nearly a decade, Rohingya children have been living in exile and relying on humanitarian assistance for healthcare, education, nutrition, safe water and protection.

UNICEF warned that growing funding shortages are putting hard-won gains at risk, leaving vulnerable children increasingly exposed to hunger, disease, violence and the loss of critical services.

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh Rana Flowers said Rohingya children remain among the most vulnerable in the world and require sustained support to ensure their survival, development and well-being.

“Without sustained access to essential services, there is a real risk of a lost generation and a lost culture,” she said.

Flowers thanked the Australian government and people for their continued support, saying long-term funding allows UNICEF to respond quickly and ensure life-saving services reach children who depend on them.

Australia’s contribution builds on its longstanding partnership with UNICEF and provides flexible funding that can be directed to priority needs as humanitarian conditions evolve.

In 2025, despite the overall Rohingya response receiving only 46% of the required funding, UNICEF reached more than 637,000 people through programmes supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection and water and sanitation services across refugee camps, host communities and Bhasan Char.

However, UNICEF said a projected funding shortfall of $13.5 million for priority life-saving activities in 2026 continues to threaten essential services for children and vulnerable families.

The renewed Australian commitment is expected to help UNICEF and its partners sustain critical services while supporting a more efficient, locally driven and sustainable humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees and host communities.