The Mae La camp hospital in Thailand was forced to close its doors after President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on international aid, causing great shock in the refugee community.
Mae La is the largest camp, and its US-funded hospital is the only source of healthcare for the more than 37,000 people living there, mostly from the Karen ethnic minority, CNN reports.
Videos posted by refugees on social media showed patients at the center being lifted from hospital beds and transported in "hammocks" covered with blankets.
Rosella, a 9-year-old girl, needs constant medical attention for a bone condition she was born with that has left her ribs pressing dangerously on her lungs, one of which is not functioning properly. She was moved to a nearby makeshift health center, along with other patients with chronic conditions. But now there are no doctors left to treat her.
Numerous aid workers in northwestern Thailand described widespread panic and confusion after the sudden suspension of aid, especially among those providing vital services to some of the world's most vulnerable and poorest people on both sides of the border.
Some told CNN they only had a month and a half of funds to feed tens of thousands of people.
“We have never encountered a problem like this before,” said Saw Bweh Say, secretary of the Karen Refugee Committee, which represents refugees in the Thai camps.
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