Displaced Arakanese struggle to access healthcare amid rising costs

By Admin 05 Nov 2025

DMG Newsroom

5 November 2025, Gwa

Many internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State are unable to access healthcare due to financial difficulties, according to social workers.

With the prices of basic goods and medicines soaring, IDPs are struggling to secure adequate food and medical treatment.

"In terms of healthcare, displaced people rarely seek help from social assistance organisations themselves. This is partly due to long distances and poor communication. When aid groups come and go, they have to send emergency patients for treatment," said an aid worker in Gwa Township.

Medicine prices in Arakan State have more than doubled compared to before the fighting, with Decolgen now costing K6,000 per tablet, Biogesic K4,000 per tablet, and paracetamol around K1,000 per tablet. Prices are reportedly higher in southern Arakan than in the north.

As a result, many displaced people - with little or no income - are said to be dying because they cannot afford to visit hospitals or clinics for treatment when they fall ill.

"If I have to buy medicine for a single dose when I'm sick, I have to pay at least K3,000," said a displaced woman in Kyauktaw. "Even with my normal daily income, I have to think twice about buying medicine because it's not enough to cover food for the day. If I have a slight runny nose or cough, I just endure it."

Ongoing conflict and a lack of job opportunities have left people across Arakan State struggling to make ends meet amid worsening economic hardship.

Displaced people are surviving through casual labour around their shelters, while some rely entirely on food donations due to insufficient aid.

"Some displaced people do not go to clinics because they cannot afford it, so they resort to taking drugs and end up getting beaten. Some arrive at the clinic only after losing consciousness from high fever, and their condition worsens because they cannot get treatment in time," another aid worker said.

There are nearly 600,000 displaced people in Arakan State, facing multiple hardships including military airstrikes and artillery attacks, as well as ongoing threats to their physical and mental security.