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BANGKOK: Seven hospitals serving refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have halted medical services following the Trump administration’s 90-day suspension of foreign aid funding.
Saw Saw, a former NGO official, confirmed that hospitals in seven refugee camps – three in Tak province, two in Mae Hong Son, one in Ratchaburi, and one in Kanchanaburi – had suspended treatment after the US ended over 40 years of funding and no other support was available.
Medical staff, including doctors and nurses, have withdrawn and patients have been forced to seek treatment elsewhere, he added.
Refugees from Myanmar have been streaming over the Thai border to escape violence and hardship amid a civil war triggered by the military coup in 2021.
Thai authorities are reportedly planning an emergency meeting to discuss measures to address the lack of medical care in refugee camps.
Tak province hosts three temporary refugee camps – Ban Mae La, Ban Umpiem, and Ban Nu Po – housing over 100,000 refugees, primarily ethnic Karen from Myanmar.
The Karen Refugee Committee at Ban Mae La Camp in Tha Song Yang district issued a statement announcing that the International Rescue Committee (IRC) – the main funder of border camps – would cease providing medical support from Tuesday (Jan 28).
Refugees at Mae La have been informed that the hospital can no longer treat pregnant women, mothers with infants, critically ill patients, emergency cases, and chronic patients, as well as those with tuberculosis, diabetes, and hypertension. Medical staff were no longer available to treat inpatients or outpatients.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that President Trump’s order to suspend IRC funding meant medical care for refugees would effectively cease worldwide for 90 days, starting Jan 28.
"It remains uncertain what will happen after the 90-day suspension, as no one can provide a clear answer at this time. In Thailand, organisations related to healthcare, children, youth, women, and the environment all receive US government assistance through the United States Agency for International Development [USAID]," Sunai said.
A total of nine refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border house approximately 106,000 refugees. Five hospitals in the camps were ordered to shut down immediately on Wednesday after their water and electricity supplies were cut off, leaving patients in limbo.
Hospitals in four other camps remain open as they receive funding from the American Refugee Committee (ARC). Two camps – in Mae La Oon and Mae La Ma Luang – remain unaffected, as they are funded by a German health organisation.
However, concern is growing that patients from camps where hospitals have closed will seek treatment at Thai public hospitals.
Medical personnel at some Thai border hospitals say they are already overwhelmed by Myanmar nationals, especially pregnant women, crossing the border for treatment. - The Nation/ANN