The United States worldwide suspension of aid has caused the loss of vital healthcare services in Chin State, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).
It has forced the CHRO’s medical teams to stop providing essential healthcare services to local communities, severely impacted support for healthcare workers and disrupted the transportation sector.
Dr. Jay, a CHRO healthcare official said: “As a result of the funding cuts, it’s become difficult to maintain our ability to provide essential healthcare support. We’re constantly looking for alternative funding sources, but as you know, that’s not something we can secure overnight. As a result, our operations have been suspended. For instance, during the diarrhoea outbreak in Matupi Township, we couldn’t send our teams. However, we were able to send medicines to healthcare workers in Matupi through a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, the timing of the outbreak and the funding cuts meant we couldn’t respond as quickly as needed.”
He added that despite the cuts and current challenges to providing healthcare support on the ground CHRO is doing its best to collaborate with other civil society health organisations in areas such as data and information sharing.
Currently, people of all ages in southern Chin State townships are suffering from diarrhoea and respiratory infections and the situation in those places could significantly worsen if those who are affected can no longer access essential medical treatment.
A 6 February 2025 report by a Chin healthcare organisation said that between mid-December 2024 and the first week of February 2025 in southern Chin State there were 190 cases of diarrhoea recorded in Matupi Township, 143 cases recorded in Mindat Township, 124 cases in Paletwa Township and 24 in Kanpetlet Township.
The report also revealed that, during the same period, three children under the age of one and an adult died in southern Chin State after contracting diarrhoea.
According to Dr Jay, the cuts in healthcare will lead to more deaths.
He said to Konumthung News: “If aid is cut off from the communities, we will no longer be able to respond to emergencies like the diarrhoea outbreaks we’ve seen, and lives will be lost. We’ll try to secure as much international aid as possible. On the other hand, we also believe that any armed groups managing administrative mechanisms in liberated areas should prioritise the needs of the people. We must also remain vigilant against the threat of airstrikes, while working together to ensure that the health and education sectors remain uninterrupted.”
He also pointed out that if international aid was not resumed very soon, the healthcare and humanitarian crises facing the people of Chin State could worsen and endanger thousands of lives.
Despite these setbacks the CHRO is working tirelessly to provide humanitarian assistance to the Chin people, including by offering support to landmine survivors through mental health, physical support, and healthcare services, according to Dr Jay.
On 24 January 2025, the US Secretary of State Marc Rubio sent a memo to all US embassies instructing them to suspend all US international aid for 90 days pending a review of all aid, as instructed by Donald Trump.