27 per cent surge in number of children admitted for severe acute malnutrition treatment in Rohingya refugee camps – UNICEF

DHAKA/COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, 11 March 2025 – The number of children needing emergency treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has surged by 27 per cent in February 2025 compared to the same period last year, as worsening conditions push more young children into life-threatening hunger.

In Cox’s Bazar, where over one million Rohingya refugees – including more than 500,000 children – live in the world’s largest refugee settlement, families are facing emergency levels of malnutrition. Over 15 per cent of children in the camps are now malnourished – the highest levels recorded since the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees in 2017.

Last year, UNICEF provided life-saving treatment to nearly 12,000 children under the age of five suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that leaves children dangerously thin, weak, and highly vulnerable to disease. Of those treated, 92 per cent recovered, but without urgent and sustained intervention, severe acute malnutrition can be fatal.

Now, the crisis is deepening. In January 2025, cases of severe acute malnutrition rose by 25 per cent compared to the same month last year (from 819 to 1,021 cases). February saw an even sharper increase of 27 per cent (836 to 1,062 cases), marking a dangerous upward trend. This surge is fueled by multiple compounding factors: prolonged monsoon rains in 2024, which worsened sanitation and triggered spikes in severe diarrhea and outbreaks of cholera and dengue; the impact of intermittent food ration cuts over the previous two years, with poor quality diets deteriorating further; and a growing number of families fleeing violence and seeking shelter in the camps in recent months.

“For now, we can provide the services that Rohingya mothers come seeking, and that very sick children need, but as needs keep rising and funding declines, families are telling us they are terrified of what will happen to their babies if there are further food ration cuts and if lifesaving nutrition treatment services stop,” said UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh, Rana Flowers.

At the beginning of 2025, UNICEF estimated that 14,200 children in the Rohingya refugee camps would suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2025. Declining food rations, poor diets for children or other factors affecting the supply of safe water and health services in the camps could cause this number to rise significantly. Children with this condition are 11 times more likely to die than their well-nourished peers if they do not receive timely treatment.

“These families cannot yet safely return home, and they have no legal right to work, so sustained humanitarian support is not optional – it is essential,” said Flowers. “UNICEF is determined to stay and deliver for children, but without guaranteed funding, critical services will be at risk.”

#####