Right to work, but hunger and healthcare shortages remain

Refugees can finally work legally after decades in Thai camps, a vital move as aid budgets are slashed. However, this comes as many are already at breaking point after chronic, severe food and medical shortages.

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MAE SOT, Thailand - On the first day of every month, refugees in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border would usually make a beeline for food-card shops to stock up on groceries after receiving a top-up of credits to their digital food cards.

On Aug 1, however, the shops stood quiet. Not a single queue formed outside.

For two months, most refugees did not receive a single baht in their food cards.

In Mae La camp - the largest of nine along the Thai border - Naw Wah Nay Paw, a worried storekeeper, stood among unsold bottles of cooking oil and cans of fish neatly arranged in rows.

"Sometimes, people who are struggling ask me for food," the 40-year-old said. "I feel so anxious about what is going to happen tomorrow. If people stop buying supplies from me, I might lose my shop." US President Donald Trump's move in January to cut nearly US$9 billion (S$11.6 billion) in foreign humanitarian aid has resulted in critical shortfalls in food and healthcare services across the globe.

Those affected include The Border Consortium (TBC), which has been providing monthly food assistance since the 1980s. While it initially stopped issuing food credits for most refugees along the Thailand-Myanmar border on July 31, it announced a month later that it would temporarily resume support in October.

However, current funds allow TBC to run food aid only until the end of 2025.

Only the 7,000 "most vulnerable" refugees those without income or other financial support across nine camps will continue receiving 400 baht (S$16) in credits and basic rations such as rice, cooking oil and yellow beans.

The remaining 101,000 refugees categorised as self-reliant, standard or vulnerable are left to fend for themselves. With no credits, they can only pay for food in cash in 2026.

MOUNTING CUTS