Healthcare services have come to a standstill for thousands of refugees along the Thailand-Myanmar border due to the U.S. government's recent 90-day freeze on foreign aid programs. According to camp officials, this pause, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, has led to the suspension of medical treatment across several refugee camps, leaving many vulnerable individuals without access to necessary healthcare.
The refugee camps affected include Mae La, Nupo, Ban Don Yang, Tham Hin, Umpiem, Mae La (Beh Klaw), Karenni Refugee Camp 1, and Karenni Refugee Camp 2, all of which rely heavily on the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for medical services. The Secretary of the Karen Refugee Committee expressed the severity of the situation, stating, “We can’t use medicines or medical equipment... we've requested permission to resume services, but so far, the answer has been no.”
By the end of January, outpatients had been discharged, with critically ill patients expected to follow suit. A representative from the Karenni Refugee Camps noted, “There are no more medical treatments, no patient transfers, and even IRC staff have stopped working.” Pregnant women and chronically ill patients are particularly at risk as they rely entirely on the camp's medical facilities, which have now been disrupted.
At the Umpiem Refugee Camp, located within Phop Pra District, reports indicated some pregnant women and patients needing hospitalization were sent back home due to the closure of medical services. The persistence of such restrictions might lead to dire consequences, as refugees aren’t normally permitted to seek treatment outside their camps. One staff member remarked on the desperate need for medical assistance, stating, “Last night in Umpiem, there were two pregnant women; one managed to go on her own, but the other had to be transported by a Thai official’s vehicle to Phop Phra hospital.”
The healthcare crisis affects significant numbers of individuals; over 90,000 refugees reside among these camps, with estimates indicating around 80,000 now facing abandonment of medical care. The freeze began after President Trump paused development assistance funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), impacting numerous humanitarian programs dependent on these funds.
According to Chucheep Pongchai, the governor of Tak province where several camps are located, the officials are aware of the crisis. They are committed to ensuring emergency medical care for the sickest patients who must be transferred to local Thai hospitals. He remarked, “No matter how U.S. policy has changed, we won’t let anyone die in our land as long as we can support them.”
Meanwhile, other organizations are also feeling the strain of the frozen aid. Organizations such as the Jesuit Refugee Service have had to suspend operations, leaving many refugees, who previously received assistance, vulnerable and without resources. “This is due to the suspension of funding from our main donor, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration,” the organization stated, reflecting the troubling consequences of the current situation.
Enhancing the depth of this crisis, Thai health officials and NGOs are scrambling for solutions amid the chaos. There are reports of attempts to calibrate the care delivered within the camps. Chucheep Pongchai confirmed transferring critically ill patients to the local state hospitals but remarked on the struggles many face. “We have to assess which patients can go home, which need help with oxygen and so on,” said Dr. Tawatchai Yingtaweesak, director of Tha Song Yang Hospital.
The funding cuts have left these camps devastated and precariously balanced. The Karen ethnic minority, residing predominantly within these facilities, suffers directly from continued political violence and instability within their homeland, exacerbated by the recent military coup. Advocacy groups continue to urge the U.S. government to reconsider the impact of its foreign aid policies on humanitarian assistance to refugees, as the majority of organizations financially supporting these programs have now stopped their operations due to the aid freeze.
While some camps like Mae La Oon and Mae Ra Ma still receive sporadic support from alternative donors, the overarching conclusion remains—tens of thousands of refugees are facing drastic cuts to their healthcare as they await international humanitarian policy clarification. “It’s scary because these refugees depend entirely on this assistance for their day-to-day health services,” Nai Aue Mon, program director of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland explained, highlighting the severity of the consequences of stalled international aid.