COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — U.S. foreign aid cuts this year have shuttered classrooms and youth programs relied on by Rohingya children, leaving many out of school and more exposed to child marriage, labor and trafficking, aid agencies say, Dec. 18, 2025.
In the world’s largest refugee settlement, school can be the only supervised place children see each day — a routine that keeps Rohingya children in view of teachers and aid workers rather than traffickers, armed groups and predatory employers.
An Associated Press investigation found the funding shock accelerated after U.S. President Donald Trump dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development in January. The AP reported U.S. funding for the Rohingya response in 2025 was cut by nearly half from the previous year and the overall emergency response was only about 50% funded. UNICEF said it lost 27% of its funding and shuttered nearly 2,800 schools in June.
Earlier, Reuters reported in August that UNICEF had suspended operations at more than 4,500 learning centers, leaving more than 227,500 Rohingya children without education at the time. Some classes later resumed for older students, but aid workers said many learning spaces remained closed or reduced.
What the aid cuts mean for Rohingya children
UNICEF data cited by the AP show reported abductions and kidnappings more than quadrupled to 560 cases between January and mid-November, while reports of armed groups recruiting and using children for training and support roles rose eightfold to 817 children affected. Verified child marriage cases rose 21% and verified child labor cases 17% in the year to September, compared with the same period last year.
“With the funding cuts, we had to downscale a lot in terms of the education,” UNICEF child protection manager Patrick Halton told the AP. “It’s meant that children have not necessarily had things to do.”
Months before the shutdowns, UNICEF warned the education of around 230,000 Rohingya refugee children was under threat because of an “acute and deepening funding crisis.” “The children we are speaking about are among the most vulnerable in the world,” said UNICEF Bangladesh Representative Rana Flowers.
Aid agencies fear 2026 will be worse for Rohingya children
The International Rescue Committee said in July the closure of learning centers could leave nearly 500,000 children without access to education by the end of September, warning that children out of class face higher risks of trafficking, child labor and early marriage. “Education is not a luxury — it is a lifeline,” IRC Bangladesh Director Hasina Rahman said.
For parents, the pressure can be immediate. One Rohingya mother quoted by Reuters described the social squeeze that follows: “Without school, girls sit idle. People start talking.”
A crisis years in the making
Advocates say the camps have never had a stable pipeline from early learning to formal qualifications. In 2019, Time reported that rights groups said Rohingya children were barred from local schools and that aid groups were restricted to informal learning centers. In early 2020, Reuters reported Bangladesh planned to open formal schooling for 10,000 Rohingya children in part to reduce trafficking and exploitation.
Aid workers say restoring education quickly is among the most effective ways to reduce exploitation risks, because for Rohingya children a classroom is not just a place to learn — it is a line of defense.
