06/08/2026
[Thailand Projects] 3-Month Field Report: Operational Updates & Urgent Challenges at Mae La Refugee Camp 🇹🇭🇲🇲
In April, we launched our medical dispatch program to support the hospital inside Mae La Refugee Camp—a facility pushed far beyond its capacity and forced to turn critical patients away.
Three months in, our dispatched physician, Dr. Kaung Zan Oo, has shared a comprehensive field update detailing both our victories on the ground and the steep operational hurdles we continue to face.
1. Overcoming a Severe Dengue Surge (Zero Fatalities)
With the arrival of the rainy season in June, dengue fever cases spiked from 9 in May to 70 in June. Lacking automated lab equipment and electronic IV drip regulators, Dr. Kaung Zan Oo and the hospital staff manually examined blood samples and regulated fluids around the clock—successfully preventing a single casualty.
2. Innovation Over Limitations ("Using What Exists")
Operating in a resource-scarce environment requires constant creativity:
Custom Neck Braces: Lacking standard cervical collars, the team crafts them out of cardboard wrapped in towels and sponges.
Cast Padding: In place of cushion bandages, staff clean, boil, and sterilize cotton cloth for lower-layer padding.
Surgical Lighting: Without specialized operating lights, doctors wear commercial LED headlamps to stitch wounds.
3. Daily Operations & System Improvements
Dr. Kaung Zan Oo begins his day with a 30-minute bus commute to the camp hospital, where lines of patients are already waiting. His schedule alternates between intense outpatient shifts (9:30–15:30) and inpatient ward handovers. Beyond direct clinical care, he is actively resolving operational bottlenecks:
Working through technical hurdles to transition the hospital from paper records to a digital database.
Addressing low morale and fear of radiation exposure among X-ray technicians by conducting educational workshops and introducing radiation measuring equipment.
4. An Urgent Funding Shortfall
While Dr. Kaung Zan Oo’s dispatch has restored 24/7 emergency care and reduced wait times, the camp hospital faces an immediate crisis: funding for two of the camp's three doctors expires this July. Without new financial commitments, healthcare capacity will collapse back past its limits.
To help us keep these essential doctors on the front lines, consider supporting our project. We will upload more detailed reports as the project continues.
🔗 https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/secure-a-dedicated-doctor-for-36000-refugees/