The challenge of healthcare access for Burmese migrants at the Thailand border

At the border between Myanmar and Thailand, hundreds of thousands of migrants are excluded from the Thai healthcare system. The documentary “Myanmar‒Thailand: Healthcare Without Barriers” highlights two projects backed by L’Initiative that facilitate medical support for these vulnerable communities.

“The Migrant Fund saved my life,” says Ma Phyu Win, a Burmese residing near the Thai border, in the documentary Myanmar-Thailand: healthcare access without barriers The Migrant Fund (M-Fund), led by the social enterprise and foundation Dreamlopments, offers a low-cost health insurance program that provides migrants and border populations in Myanmar access to quality healthcare. Without this fund, Ma Phyu Win, who was pregnant at the time, could not have afforded treatment at a Thai hospital, as the procedure would have been prohibitively expensive. Today, 84,000 members, 64% of whom are women, are enrolled in this program across several border provinces.

Advocating for migrants’ right to health

According to the International Organization for Migration, most of the 5.2 million migrants residing and working in Thailand are Burmese. Alongside ongoing conflict between rebels and the ruling junta in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, the country has also been struck by natural disasters, including Typhoon Yogi in September 2024. Thousands flee Myanmar every day, with many taking refuge in Thailand’s border province of Tak. Marginalized and vulnerable, these migrants often have very restricted access to healthcare, like Ma Phyu Win.

“The M-Fund is a sustainable and affordable community-based access fund aimed at closing gaps in Thailand’s universal health coverage, especially for unregistered or irregular migrants,” says Dr. Nyan Linn, program manager at Dreamlopments, the organization spearheading L’Initiative. For 130 baht per month (€3.70), subscribers receive annual coverage for medical expenses up to 50,000 baht (around €1,400). Nang Ei Lawnt Ying, Dreamlopments’ project leader, knows this reality well, having lived illegally in Thailand for three years: “I understand the challenges of such circumstances. With the M-Fund, migrants realize the importance of subscribing to insurance, empowering them to take control of their health.”

Discover more about Nang Ei Lawnt Ying’s daily work as a project manager at Dreamlopments by following L’Initiative on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. In her feature, she recounts her personal and professional struggle to provide displaced Burmese people with access to quality healthcare.

L’Initiative has been financially supporting the M-Fund project for several years, with current contributions exceeding €1.5 million. Since its launch, the insurance has funded 117,000 medical consultations and hospital admissions. “This fund saves many lives”, emphasizes Dr. Melli Gilder in the documentary. She collaborates with the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) and works across seven clinics engaged in community health projects on both sides of the border. Dr. Gilder’s primary focus is on pregnant women and newborns, providing antenatal care, family planning, and contraception services. In this region, the need for access to sexual and reproductive health services is urgent.

Explore the everyday experiences of caregivers and recipients, and learn about the impact of SMRU and Dreamlopments initiatives on the ground in the Mae Sot border area:

Providing access to quality healthcare

Thanks to funding from L’Initiative, €2,759,475 since the beginning og the project, SMRU has trained approximately 100 community health workers in the Tak border province on sexual and reproductive health rights and maternal and child health. These workers engage directly with migrants to educate them on these critical health issues, helping to break down language barriers in accessing medical care.

For more than 40 years, Ladda has been working with SMRU as the director of the public engagement department. Her profile, featured on L’Initiative’s X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, recounts her personal journey, intertwined with the story of Burmese migration at the Thailand border. She highlights her work on the ground and describes how the SMRU-led project enhances the health conditions of displaced communities.

Ladda Kajeechiwa – SMRU and Nang Ei Lawnt Ying – M-Fund

Significant advancements are already visible. The M-Fund project and the initiative led by SMRU are continuing their efforts with stakeholders in the Thai healthcare system to strengthen access to healthcare for migrant populations, aligning with the Royal Thai Government’s objectives for universal health coverage. Dr. Melli Gilder stresses that Thailand must further prioritize healthcare access for migrant workers, who play a critical role in supporting the nation’s economy. Limited access to healthcare undermines pandemic control efforts, interrupts treatment, and hampers disease prevention. For this reason, L’Initiative supports these projects with the goal of promoting the fundamental right to health and contributing to the achievement of the third Sustainable Development Goal – “Good Health and Well-Being.”