PORIMOL PALMA and MOKAMMEL SHUVO

A humanitarian crisis in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps is brewing in the face of funding shortage for the refugees and more arrivals from the conflict-ridden Rakhine state of Myanmar.

This year, $934 million is needed for the 1.5 million people -- 1.2 million Rohingya and 300,000 host community members -- but only 19 percent of the funding requirement has materialised.

The gap has widened largely thanks to the funding cut by the Trump administration that in February eliminated more than 90 percent of the USAID-funded foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall US assistance worldwide.

The overnight suspension of US funding came as a huge shock to the humanitarian community, The Daily Star has learnt from UN officials.

The other donors who committed funding will release it in August or November, but their amounts have also declined.

Last year, the total funding received was 68 percent of the required amount, but this year it may not even reach 50 percent, said a UN official on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak with the media.

Dozens of projects including health, family planning, nutrition and education, supported by the USAID have been affected since the USAID cuts.

For example, data collated by the Cox’s Bazar District Family Planning Office says service recipients of oral pills declined to about 10,000 in April from over 20,000 in February, while condom recipients came down to 3,800 from over 6,500.

The number of general patients seeking medical treatment in the Rohingya camps declined to 205,000 in April from 372,000 in February.

“We are facing serious problems in receiving medical treatment “Our

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