SYDNEY — Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees struggling to survive in Bangladesh's overcrowded camps will see their food assistance slashed starting on Wednesday (April 1), raising alarm throughout the increasingly desperate community.

Currently, the 1.2 million Rohingya trapped in the squalid camps receive US$12 (S$15) a month per person, an amount the persecuted minority from Myanmar has long warned is barely sustainable. 

Most of the Rohingya in the camps fled brutal attacks by Myanmar's military in 2017 and they are legally barred from working in Bangladesh, leaving them largely reliant upon humanitarian aid to survive.

Under the United Nations' World Food Program's (WFP) new tiered system, the amount each person receives will vary based on the severity of their family's needs, with around 17 per cent of the population getting as little as US$7 per month. 

A third of the population that has been classified as "extremely food insecure", such as households headed by children, will continue receiving US$12.

"It is very difficult to understand how we will survive now with only US$7. Our children will suffer the most," said camp resident Mohammed Rahim, who said he and his wife were already struggling to feed their three children before the reduction.