Finland has contributed Euro 2 million to support Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh, helping sustain critical life-saving assistance and protection services amid growing humanitarian needs and significant funding challenges.

According to a press release issued today by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the timely financial contribution will help address acute funding gaps.

This includes the direct support of skills development and resilience-building programmes tailored for the Rohingya population.

Nearly a decade after fleeing systematic persecution and violence in Myanmar, around 1.2 million stateless Rohingya continue to reside in Bangladesh, remaining largely dependent on humanitarian assistance due to severely limited livelihood opportunities.

Figures from UNHCR indicate that only 23 percent of Rohingya households earned an income through structured cash-for-work programmes in 2025, while 42 percent had to rely on temporary and highly unstable sources of income and 35 percent possessed no income source at all.

The UN refugee agency highlighted that declining humanitarian funding is disproportionately impacting vulnerable demographic groups, including women and girls, persons with disabilities, older people, and around 150,000 new arrivals who have crossed into Bangladesh since early 2024.

"Finland's stepped-up commitment shows great generosity at a time when the Rohingya response is facing declining funding, worsening camp conditions and rising protection risks," said Ivo Freijsen, the UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh.

He further noted that the contribution successfully reaffirmed the international community's collective responsibility to protect Rohingya families and support them until prevailing conditions in Myanmar finally permit their voluntary, safe, and dignified return.

Expressing diplomatic solidarity, Mari Ahmed, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi, stated that Finland stands firmly with both Bangladesh and the Rohingya people.

She stressed the vital importance of investing not only in basic humanitarian assistance but also in skills development, resilience-building initiatives, and targeted support for the most vulnerable refugees, while simultaneously ensuring that the prolonged crisis remains firmly on the global agenda.

This financial injection arrives just as the United Nations and its humanitarian partners seek renewed international backing following the launch of the 2026 update of the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis on May 20.

The revised appeal seeks USD 710.5 million to assist up to 1.56 million people, encompassing both Rohingya refugees and affected Bangladeshi host communities.

Although this latest appeal represents a 26 percent reduction from the 2025 plan and covers only essential life-saving assistance, it has already successfully secured 60 percent of its required funding.

Finland has a long-standing history of supporting global humanitarian efforts and multilateral initiatives for forcibly displaced populations worldwide.

In addition to this targeted Rohingya response contribution, Finland is providing UNHCR with an additional EUR 7 million in flexible core funding for 2026 to support emergency responses and field operations in underfunded crises globally.

UNHCR concluded by reiterating that sustained international engagement and financial support remain absolutely essential to strengthen Bangladesh's response and ensure that Rohingya refugees and host communities continue to receive critical assistance until a durable solution is achieved.