Photo : Collected

DHAKA, March 13, 2026 (BSS) - The Government of Australia and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have reaffirmed their partnership to support Rohingyas and host communities in Bangladesh through a new AUD 16.5 million multi-year funding agreement for 2026-2028.
 
The new agreement will help sustain critical sexual and reproductive health services, gender-based violence prevention and response, and adolescent and youth services for some of the most vulnerable women, girls and families in Cox's Bazar, a UNFPA press release said.

This will be UNFPA's third multi-year flexible funding agreement with Australia reaffirming Australia's steadfast partnership and continued commitment to protecting the lives, dignity and rights of Rohingyas and host communities.

Australia's support comes at a critical time. Currently, over 1.2 million Rohingyas live in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar, alongside 568,000 people in host communities who also need humanitarian assistance.

Women and girls continue to face heightened risks of gender-based violence, child marriage and inadequate access to essential sexual and reproductive health services, while insecurity, climate-related disasters and shrinking global humanitarian funding compound already severe vulnerabilities.

"Australia is proud to work with UNFPA. This multi-year investment reflects our commitment to predictable, flexible humanitarian funding that saves lives, protects women and girls, and helps communities withstand the growing pressures of displacement, insecurity and climate-related shocks," said Susan Ryle, Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

UNFPA plays a leading role in the Rohingya humanitarian response. Through its network of reproductive health facilities, women-friendly spaces and youth centres, UNFPA helps ensure that women and girls can safely access emergency obstetric care, midwifery services, psychosocial support, clinical management of rape, voluntary and right-based family planning, dignity kits, and empowerment opportunities.

With Australia's previous support, UNFPA has reached around 340,000 Rohingya and host community women and girls in the last three years, including over 7,500 persons with disabilities, and contributed to reduction in maternal deaths in the Rohingya camps.
 
"The Government of Australia's contribution is a timely and strategic investment in the Rohingya humanitarian response. Flexible, multi-year funding is indispensable in a crisis of this scale and complexity because it allows UNFPA and partners to sustain life-saving services, adapt to changing needs, and protect the health, safety and dignity of women and girls who cannot afford interruptions in care," said Catherine Breen-Kamkong, UNFPA Representative in Bangladesh.
 
"Australia's partnership is helping ensure that no woman gives birth without support, no survivor is left without services, and no adolescent is forgotten. We are deeply grateful for this support," she added.
 
The new agreement aligns with the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian response and subsequent response plans, as well as the Australia-Bangladesh Development Partnership Plan 2025-2030, and broader humanitarian commitments.