Even more on the MSF pullout from Thailand ...
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Migrant HIV patients hit by MSF pullout
DVB
11 October 2011
Health workers in Thailand say the decision by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to close operations in Thailand will hit one of the country’s most vulnerable communities, namely the millions of unofficial Burmese who struggle to access government healthcare.
The Paris-based medical group announced the termination of its Thailand operations last week, citing government interference in its programmes for migrants and refugees. Two projects that treated some 55,000 Burmese were closed, one after being forced to by the government.
Saw Haray Mu, of the Karen Human Rights Group, said the closure of a clinic on the Thai-Burma border between Phayathonsu and Sangkhlaburi would have far-reaching consequences.
“The MSF pull-out has left patients with HIV, for example, unable to receive ARV medication as they can no longer get approval from the group. We pity and are very much worried for them,” he said.
The murky legal status of many migrants in Thailand means that even those requiring ARV treatment struggle to receive help from Thai hospitals. Despite a recent registration drive by Bangkok, around one million Burmese in Thailand are thought to be without legal papers.
The Thai government was thought to be resistant to MSF’s offering of treatment to unregistered migrants, fearing that it would encourage a greater influx from Burma.
The Mon National Health Committee (MNHC), which has been operating with assistance from MSF for more than two years, also expressed its concern for the population along the border, and is now looking for a new donor.
“A lot of the population here just live in the jungle and previously we provided medical assistance for them through our trained health workers as they can’t get healthcare from Thai clinics,” said Nai Kye Mon, from the MNHC.
“Now that we have stopped receiving medicine [from MSF], there is a lot of difficulty for us looking after them. We are requesting that the international community assists us to provide necessary healthcare.”
He said about 50,000 people at the border are likely to be effected from the withdrawal of MSF, which had also provided medical care, water supply and sanitation to Lao Hmong refugees in northern Thailand prior to their forced return last year.
http://www.dvb.no/news/migrant-hiv-patients-hit-by-msf-pullout/18081
