Hundreds of thousands of people who fled their homes in conflict-torn Myanmar to live in camps across the Thailand border are facing growing hardship following US foreign aid cuts. Source: UCA News.
“More than 108,000 people are now struggling to access staple food supplies,” Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on May 7, quoting civil society organisations.
US President Donald Trump on January 20 ordered the suspension of funding to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has hit the Myanmar refugees hard, the report said.
The predominantly ethnic Karen from eastern Myanmar’s Kayin state, facing oppression from the military junta in the form of brutal village burnings and air strikes, fled en masse to camps in Thailand.
RFA reported that after living under refugee status for years without access to jobs or legal documents, they were helped by USAID for essential services, including health care, food distribution, and sanitation.
The US had been the largest donor, contributing about 69 per cent of the camps’ funding as of early 2025, channelled through NGOs like the International Rescue Committee and The Border Consortium, said the Organisation for World Peace.
“There has been a steadily declining international support for the displaced Karen,” according to a statement co-published by 20 Karen groups on May 7.
They noted that food provisions were already below the minimum required for survival even before these drastic aid reductions.
“Children five years old and under have had their food budget slashed to just five US cents per day, while those over five will receive eight cents a day in allocated food,” the statement added.
The groups called for reversing long-term aid cuts for Myanmar residents in Thailand and for existing donors to increase their funding.
They further urged Bangkok to grant them the right to work and for the country to lift restrictions on cross-border aid delivery to areas not controlled by the Myanmar military.
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Myanmar refugees in Thailand stare at bleak future amid aid cuts (UCA News)
