Women forced to “give birth in classrooms” as USAID freezes leave Thai authorities overwhelmed

Thai hospitals are discharging thousands of Myanmar refugees requiring urgent care including women in labour, as US President Donald Trump’s USAID cuts take effect. The suspension of billions of dollars in USAID funding almost 3 weeks ago, part of a sweeping 90-day freeze on foreign assistance programmes, instigated the abrupt shutdown of medical facilities overnight, forcing many to seek care in overstretched Thai government hospitals.

With more than 80,000 refugees from Myanmar’s ethnic minorities sheltering in camps along the Thai border, humanitarian agencies are warning of an escalating crisis in a region heavily dependent on international aid.

Speaking at a press conference on the 7th of February, 2025, Sylvia Manchester* of The News* described the situation as “chaotic,” warning that the cuts have thrown humanitarian operations into disarray.

“Myanmar has been very badly affected in a lot of different ways,” she said. “The US is the largest donor to a huge humanitarian operation - everything from food deliveries to shelter and sanitation, as well as support for human rights organisations, civil society groups, and independent media.”

“When the freeze happened, the hospitals were suddenly closed, and people were discharged with nowhere to go,” she said. “Women in labour had to give birth in school classrooms. It’s incredibly dangerous.”

She added that organisations such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which supports displaced communities from Myanmar across nine camps along the Thailand border, were “scrambling” to determine whether they could continue their work at all.

Among the casualties of these closures is 71-year-old Karen refugee Pe Kha Lau, who died days after being sent home despite having chronic lung health issues. Describing their family as “very poor”, her son-in-law said her death could have been prevented if they had access to an oxygen tank.

The USAID freeze is also worsening conditions in Bangladesh’s Rohingya camps, where over a million refugees, mostly from Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, have been displaced in overcrowded settlements since 2017.

Anamul Hasan, a journalist and Rohingya rights activist based in Cox’s Bazar, described the cuts as exacerbating an already dire situation: “Many already suffer from chronic diseases like Hepatitis C and diabetes. We’re likely going to see things get much worse.”

An 2023 MSF survey, which revealed the prevalence rate of Hepatitis C to be 28 per cent in Rohingya camps, compared to the general prevalence rate of the disease in Bangladesh as between 0.2-1 per cent, further underscores this suffering.

With already limited access to healthcare, Hasan pointed to rising gang violence as a direct result of such insecurity. “When needs aren’t being met, people [become] vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking,” he said, warning that groups within the camps were already taking advantage of the circumstances.

Humanitarian funding for Rohingya refugees has reached critically low levels; as of the 31st of October, 2024, the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya refugee crisis received just over half of the estimated required funds - $452.1 million against an appeal of $852.4 million.

As aid agencies scramble to find alternative funding sources, the humanitarian situation in Myanmar’s refugee communities remains increasingly precarious. While Thai authorities have pledged to step in for the time being, concerns are growing over how long Myanmar’s displaced populations can survive without widespread assistance.

*real names not used