Vatican newspaper warns of deepening humanitarian crisis for Rohingya refugees

May 23, 2026

The Vatican newspaper warned that international aid is running out for the over one million Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh (map).

A $610-million funding shortfall “risks transforming one of the planet’s most severe humanitarian crises into an even deeper catastrophe,” Francesco Citterich wrote in a prominent front-page article in L’Osservatore Romano’s May 22 edition. “Indeed, the shortage of resources jeopardizes the distribution of fundamental necessities, such as food, clean water, medical care, education, and protection services, intended for one of the world’s most vulnerable refugee communities.”

“Humanitarian agencies warn that the progressive decline in international funding could have devastating consequences: a rise in child malnutrition, the spread of disease, the collapse of healthcare services, and an increase in human trafficking,” Citterich continued. “The already fragile conditions of these families—many of whom bear the scars of persecution and traumatic flight—risk deteriorating even further, while hospitals and medical centers may no longer be able to provide basic care.”

The staff journalist wrote that the roots of the crisis “lie primarily in the brutal military offensive and violent crackdown launched in 2017 in Rakhine State, when the Rohingya Muslim minority was forced to flee Myanmar. According to the United Nations, those operations were characterized by systematic atrocities: massacres of civilians, summary executions, mass rape, torture, the deliberate burning of entire villages, and the widespread destruction of homes, schools, and places of worship.”

 

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Further information:

• Rohingya: Gli invisibili (L'Osservatore Romano, 5/22/26)