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U.S. Foreign Aid Freeze Kills 71-Year-Old Burmese Refugee Who Lost Access to Her Oxygen Supply

HeadlineFeb 13, 2025

The Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid has led to its first reported death, after a 71-year-old Burmese refugee was sent home from a hospital on the Thailand-Burma border that was funded by the U.S. through the International Rescue Committee. As the hospital closed, Pe Kha Lau lost access to a life-sustaining oxygen tank. This is her son-in-law.

Tin Win: “Every patient was sent back home after the clinic closed down at the camp. Not only my mother-in-law, every patient went back home. Nobody was left there. My mother-in-law was not in critical condition when she returned home. I’m sure nothing would have happened if she still had an oxygen tank. She died due to the lack of oxygen tanks in the camp.”

Other unidentified victims have also reportedly died after health facilities serving refugees from Burma were shuttered.

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