Among the vast refugee camps on the hillsides of Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh, Hamida lives with her 3 sons and young daughter. She arrived in Bangladesh in 2017, fleeing violence that swept through her village in Rakhine State, Myanmar. For families like hers, assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) – made possible by donors such as the European Union – is essential.
‘When they burnt our houses, we fled’, she recalls. With their children in tow and carrying what little they could save, Hamida and her husband escaped to Bangladesh and settled in the camps. In Myanmar, her family once owned land, farmed fish, and lived a modest, independent life.
Today, life remains full of hardship. Her husband has since left, leaving her to raise their 4 children alone. The camp offers limited opportunities to earn an income, so Hamida and her family depend almost entirely on humanitarian assistance. ‘We manage’, she says softly. ‘The rice lasts the month, but vegetables finish much quicker.’
Since 2024, fighting in Rakhine State has intensified, forcing a further 150,000 people to flee to Bangladesh. The population in the camps and on Bhasan Char, a small island 60 km away from the mainland, is now nearly 1.2 million.
Monthly food vouchers
For all families, WFP’s assistance is a lifeline. Each month, through an e-voucher system, families can buy rice, lentils, oil, onions, chilies and other essential items at WFP outlets in the camps and on Bhasan Char. The assistance includes fresh food, including vegetables, chicken and fish – some of it supplied by the host community through WFP’s support to local smallholder farmers.
For extremely vulnerable families such as Hamida’s – including those headed by women, children or elderly people – an additional fresh food voucher helps supplement their diet. This system allows families to choose the items they prefer, preserving their autonomy.
Nutrition services for mothers and children
Hamida’s youngest children also receive specialised nutrition services. The services are designed to prevent and treat malnutrition among children and pregnant or breastfeeding women – a critical intervention in a refugee setting where malnutrition remains a major challenge.
WFP also supports children through school meals and fosters self-reliance through homestead gardening. Additionally, it carries out disaster risk reduction work that improves camp living conditions and protects families from monsoon floods and cyclones.
Hamida’s monthly food basket is made possible by the European Union’s humanitarian aid. In 2025 alone, the EU provided €15.3 million, funding that has helped WFP sustain critical food and nutrition assistance for refugee families.