Rohingya Boat Departures Increase as Aid Cuts and Insecurity Force Families out of Camps

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (April 23, 2026) - The number of Rohingya refugees leaving Bangladesh and Myanmar by boat in the first three months of the year has increased about 85% compared to last year, with children among the thousands making perilous boat journeys.^[1]

Analysis of UN data by Save the Children shows that 2,907 people departed Bangladesh and Myanmar by boat between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2026, compared to 1,571 people between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2025. More than half of those who leave Bangladesh and Myanmar by boat are women and children, according to the UNHCR.

The worrying increase comes ahead of the region’s annual monsoon season, which brings heavy rains and winds, and puts refugees fleeing by boat at heightened risk of capsize on choppy seas.

A fresh round of food ration cuts inside the camps in Bangladesh earlier this month have affected at least half a million Rohingya refugee children and is putting further strain on families, with reduced food security inside the camps driving more refugees to attempt dangerous sea journeys.

This as well as other factors, including lack of access to education and employment, has driven Rohingya refugees to take risky boat journeys which put children at risk of abuse or even death at sea.

About 250 people, including children, are feared missing or dead after a fishing trawler carrying Rohingya refugees and people from Bangladesh sunk in the Andaman Sea last week - the latest tragedy that highlights the increasingly desperate measures taken by Rohingya refugees.

Nearly nine years since they were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar, more than one million Rohingya refugees remain in the camps in Cox’s Bazar in Southeastern Bangladesh. The refugees are stateless and are almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid to survive.

Golam Mostofa, Cox’s Bazar Area Director for Save the Children, said:

"These camps are among the most densely populated places on earth and the situation for Rohingya refugees living in these camps in Bangladesh is precarious. Children and their families face rising insecurity and inadequate aid. Add to that severe restrictions on movement, limited livelihood opportunities, inadequate resources and mental health crises and what you have is a recipe for disaster with children once again bearing the brunt.

"Many families feel that they have no choice but to risk their lives and leave by boat but their journeys are fraught with danger, including for children who risk abuse at sea and sometimes travel unaccompanied.

"Save the Children is calling on donors to urgently increase funding for education, livelihoods, and all actors to prioritize improved security in the camps to ensure children are safe and protected."

Save the Children is one of the leading international NGOs working in the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, providing child protection, access to learning, health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene services, and distribution of shelter and food items. The organization has reached more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees, including more than 320,000 children, since our response began in 2017.

###

NOTES:

[1] Save the Children analysis of UNHCR figures between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2026  https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/myanmar; 2,907 people departed between Jan. 1 - March 31, 2026; 1,571 people between Jan. 1 - March 31, 2025,  indicating an 85 % increase.