US aid cuts leave Myanmar refugees in Thailand facing hunger, healthcare crisis

More than 100,000 Myanmar refugees living in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border have been left without essential food and healthcare after US funding cuts, Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday.

The rights group urged Bangkok to immediately allow refugees to work legally and travel outside the nine border camps, saying the move could save lives and benefit Thailand’s economy.

The July 31 suspension of most food aid and primary healthcare followed deep reductions in US foreign assistance under the Trump administration and shortfalls from other donors. The Border Consortium ended food support for most households, while the International Rescue Committee shut down health operations, leaving refugees – barred from legal employment – almost entirely dependent on dwindling humanitarian aid.

“Cutting US funding for humanitarian aid should spur the Thai government to change its policy toward the 100,000 Myanmar refugees in the border camps,” said Shayna Bauchner, HRW’s Asia researcher.

The camps, established in the mid-1980s for those fleeing Myanmar military offensives, now shelter over 107,000 people, according to Thai and UN figures. Chronic malnutrition among children under five has risen for the first time in at least a decade, and refugees interviewed by HRW described surviving on as little as 77 baht (US$2.30) a month before aid stopped.

With no legal right to work, many take risky jobs outside the camps, risking fines, arrest, or deportation. Some borrow heavily to be smuggled to cities in search of income, exposing themselves to trafficking and abuse. Others have resorted to theft, pulling children out of school to earn money, or abandoning medical treatment due to costs.

Since Myanmar’s 2021 coup, the camp population has grown by 35 percent as military airstrikes and landmines have forced more than a million to flee to neighboring countries.

HRW called on Thailand to grant refugees free and expedited work permits, expand Thai-language programs, and engage refugee-led groups to replace the closed-camp model with policies that promote self-reliance and integration.

“Donor countries should cover the urgent gaps in camp funding while encouraging Thailand to allow refugees to be self-reliant,” Bauchner said. “Granting refugees permission to work and travel would give them tools for the future while supporting Thailand’s economic growth.”

This is an edited version of the report that was published by Human Rights Watch on Aug. 11, 2025.