Bangladesh and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have welcomed a fresh rice donation from South Korea to support the Rohingya humanitarian response, reaffirming Seoul’s continued solidarity with Bangladesh, reports BSS.
A handover ceremony was held on Tuesday at WFP’s Alongkar Warehouse in Chattogram, attended by Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Md. Mostafizur Rahman, South Korean Ambassador Young Sik Park, and WFP Country Director Dom Scalpelli, according to a press release.
The event coincided with Korea’s Farmers’ Day, paying tribute to Korean farmers whose hard work made the contribution possible.
This year’s donation — 20,265 metric tonnes of rice — was provided by the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA). It follows a 15,000-metric-tonne contribution made in 2024.
In addition to rice, MAFRA has supplied fortified rice kernels enriched with vitamins A, B1, B12, zinc, iron, and folic acid. These will be blended locally with regular rice at a 1:100 ratio before distribution in Cox’s Bazar, where over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees currently reside.
According to WFP, the latest contribution is sufficient to feed the entire Rohingya population for nearly two months. It forms part of Korea’s broader global donation of 150,000 metric tonnes of rice to WFP operations in 17 countries.
“We remain dedicated to working with the Government of Bangladesh and WFP to respond to the growing needs of the Rohingya community,” said Ambassador Park.
As the crisis enters its ninth year, more than 1.1 million Rohingya remain in camps in Cox’s Bazar, with over 130,000 new arrivals fleeing conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State since early 2024.
The 2025 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report estimates that about 446,000 Rohingya—roughly 40% of the camp population—are severely food insecure, while 223,000 face emergency-level food insecurity.
The WFP has warned that without additional resources, lifesaving operations could face major disruptions as early as April 2026 due to declining humanitarian funding.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
