Washington has suspended all foreign aid and assistance following an order from President Donald Trump, forcing the United Nations to make budget cuts across various sectors. This has raised concerns about food aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Filippo Grandi, the UNHCR High Commissioner, expressed his concerns in a post on social media platform X. Sharing a photo of a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on Friday, he stated, “Providing shelter to the Rohingya was a major undertaking for the Bangladeshi government. Now, if what we fear happens and donor support declines dramatically, it will create unprecedented pressure on Bangladesh, aid organizations, and the refugees themselves. Thousands of Rohingya will face hunger, disease, and insecurity.”

The crisis began in August 2017 when the Arakan Salvation Army (ARSA), an armed Rohingya group, carried out coordinated bomb attacks on several police stations and military posts in Myanmar’s Rakhine province, near the Bangladesh border. In response, Myanmar’s military launched a brutal crackdown in Rohingya-majority areas, forcing thousands to flee across the Naf River into Bangladesh to escape violence, killings, rape, looting, and arson. The Bangladeshi government provided them shelter in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, and international donors, along with the UN, began supplying food and other aid. This support system has continued ever since, with over 1.5 million Rohingya currently residing in the camp.

Aid for the Rohingya has already been reduced in the past due to funding cuts by the U.S. and other donor nations. However, with the U.S. now suspending all foreign aid, the situation has become far more severe, as the United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations’ budget.

During his recent visit to Bangladesh, Filippo Grandi met with the country’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, before departing on Thursday.