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U.S. Aid Cuts Trigger Child Abuse Crisis in Rohingya Refugee Camps
A devastating surge in child abuse cases is unfolding in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps following the United States’ decision to slash its foreign aid program, an Associated Press investigation has revealed.
The investigation, based on interviews with 37 children, family members, teachers, community leaders and aid workers, documented alarming increases in child marriage, child labor, kidnapping and other violations against children since January, when President Donald Trump dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
More than half of the 1.2 million Rohingya living in these camps are children, trapped in a precarious existence. Bangladesh prohibits the Rohingya from working legally, while returning to Myanmar remains dangerous as the country is controlled by the same military responsible for the 2017 violence that the U.S. declared a genocide. This situation has left the refugees entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance.
The United States has historically been the largest provider of humanitarian funding to the Rohingya. However, President Trump’s decision to shut down USAID, which he characterized as wasteful despite foreign aid accounting for just 1% of the U.S. budget, has had catastrophic consequences. The U.S. contribution for 2025 has been cut nearly in half compared to last year.
The overall Rohingya emergency response is now only 50% funded for the year, with aid agencies predicting even more severe funding shortages next year. UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, lost 27% of its funding due to U.S. aid cuts, forcing it to close 2,800 schools in June. The cuts have also crippled child protection programs, healthcare, nutrition, and sanitation services.
The closure of schools has proven particularly devastating. Without educational opportunities, hundreds of underage girls have been forced into unwanted marriages, many of which quickly turned abusive. Children as young as 10 have been pushed into manual labor. Without safe spaces to play or learn, children wander through the sprawling camps, making them vulnerable targets for kidnappers, traffickers, and armed militant groups.
According to UNICEF data, reported cases of abduction and kidnapping between January and mid-November more than quadrupled compared to the same period last year, affecting 560 children. There has been an eightfold increase in reports of recruitment and use of children by armed groups, with 817 children affected. Experts believe these figures are likely underreported.
Verified cases of child marriage rose by 21%, and child labor cases increased by 17% in the year to September compared to the same period last year. Patrick Halton, a child protection manager for UNICEF, notes these statistics likely represent a significant undercount of actual cases.
“With the funding cuts, we had to downscale a lot in terms of the education,” Halton explains. “It’s meant that children have not necessarily had things to do, and we’ve therefore seen this rise in children being married, children being in child labor.”
The U.S. State Department, in a statement to the AP, claimed the U.S. has provided more than $168 million to the Rohingya since the beginning of Trump’s term, although UN financial tracking data show the U.S. contribution in 2025 is $156 million. The department stated it had “advanced burden sharing and improved efficiency” in the Rohingya response, resulting in 11 countries increasing their funding by more than 10% year-on-year, collectively contributing $72 million.
“The Trump Administration continues to pursue the diplomatic efforts to encourage additional countries to help shoulder the burden,” the statement said. However, the department did not provide evidence that U.S. actions had influenced other countries’ funding decisions for the Rohingya response.
The human cost of these funding cuts is reflected in stories like that of 16-year-old Hasina, who was forced into marriage after her school closed. Now trapped with an abusive husband, she mourns her lost educational opportunities and former dream of becoming a teacher. Confined largely to her shelter, cooking and cleaning, she waits in dread for the next beating.
“I dreamed of being something, of working for the community,” Hasina says softly. “My life is destroyed.”
The crisis in Bangladesh echoes similar tragedies unfolding elsewhere. In Myanmar, AP investigations found that U.S. aid cuts have led to children starving to death, despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion to Congress that “No one has died” as a result of USAID’s dissolution.
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8 Comments
This is a deeply troubling report. The Rohingya children are facing unimaginable hardship, and the aid cuts are only making their situation worse. We must do more to protect these vulnerable children and ensure they have access to the basic services and support they need to survive and thrive.
The surge in child abuse cases in the Rohingya refugee camps is absolutely heartbreaking. The aid cuts have left these children even more vulnerable and exposed to exploitation. The international community must act swiftly to restore and increase humanitarian funding to address this crisis.
The Rohingya refugees are in a dire situation, and the impact on the children is particularly concerning. Cutting aid at this critical time is only exacerbating the crisis and leaving vulnerable children even more exposed. The US and other nations need to reinstate and increase humanitarian funding to address this urgent situation.
It’s heartbreaking to see the surge in child abuse cases as a result of the US aid cuts. The Rohingya children are already living in such precarious conditions, and now they’re facing even greater threats to their safety and wellbeing. The international community must step up to provide the necessary assistance.
This is a tragic outcome of the US decision to cut aid. The Rohingya children are already living in extremely precarious conditions, and now they’re facing even greater threats to their safety and development. We must do more to protect these vulnerable children and ensure they have access to the support they desperately need.
This is a devastating situation for the Rohingya children. The US decision to cut aid has had a profound impact on their safety and wellbeing. We must do more to support these vulnerable children and ensure they have access to the basic services and protection they need.
The decision to cut US aid to the Rohingya refugees is having devastating consequences, especially for the children. This is a humanitarian crisis that requires a coordinated global response to address the urgent needs of these vulnerable populations.
This is a devastating situation for the Rohingya children. The aid cuts have left them extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. More needs to be done to protect these vulnerable children and ensure they have access to basic services and support.