A refugee suffering from respiratory issues passed away after being discharged from a US-funded hospital on the Myanmar-Thai border, which was forced to close due to an executive order by US President Donald Trump that halted foreign aid, her family said.
Pe Kha Lau, aged 71, succumbed to breathing difficulties on Sunday, just four days after her release from a medical center financed by the US through the International Rescue Committee.
In late January, the International Rescue Committee was forced to close its medical facilities in various refugee camps after the US State Department issued a “stop-work” directive, as stated by camp residents and humanitarian workers.
A representative from the IRC said, “To hear of this loss of life is devastating, and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of Pe Kha Lau.”
Following directives from President Trump, the US ceased nearly all humanitarian efforts and began dismantling its primary aid distribution agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Sources from Washington have reported that the agency plans to drastically reduce its global staff from approximately 10,000 to 300.
The spending halt, mandated by Trump as soon as he assumed office on January 20, is intended to last 90 days during which his administration will reassess all foreign aid programs.
eTrump, alongside billionaire Elon Musk who leads his initiative to downsize the federal government, argues that this measure is vital to eliminate unnecessary expenditures.
The IRC’s services were crucial for the tens of thousands of refugees residing in camps along the Thai border, who are unable to return to Myanmar.
The country has been engulfed in turmoil since a military coup in 2021 ousted the elected government, resulting in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of over 3.5 million people, according to the United Nations.
For three years, Pe Kha Lau was hospitalized and reliant on oxygen, her family noted.
After feeling unwell on Saturday evening, she expressed a desire to return to the hospital, her daughter Yin Yin Aye, aged 50, said through tears.
Over the phone, she shared, “I had to tell her that there is no hospital.”
It is reported that the refugee community had taken the initiative to “self-organize” and maintain essential services while aid transitioned to Thai authorities.
Before the hospital’s closure, Pe Kha Lau’s son-in-law, Tin Win, remarked, “Whenever she struggled to breathe, I would immediately take her to the hospital, and she would recover.”
“We are very poor people,” he said. “I work as a day laborer. We can’t afford oxygen at home,” he added.
He mentioned that several other refugees had perished due to the closure of these hospitals.
A local Thai health official, who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the topic, mentioned that while some patients received oxygen tanks upon the hospitals’ closure, supplies were insufficient.
The IRC facilities were the main source of healthcare in Umpiem camp, a secluded mountainous region.
With the sudden closure of the IRC facilities, midwives relocated laboring women to a former school building, where an 18-year-old refugee gave birth on February 1 under subpar conditions, as noted by a relative and a schoolteacher.
The withdrawal of US foreign aid has prompted Thai officials and refugee organizations to hastily attempt to fill the ensuing void, while state-run hospitals take on the responsibility of caring for the refugees.
The freeze on US aid has debilitated global aid operations, including those crucial for preventing and addressing famine, as reported by humanitarian organizations.
