IDPs in Arakan State face dire food shortages

By Admin 14 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
14 August 2024, Sittwe

The number of displaced people is increasing in Arakan State, where the military and the Arakkha Army (AA) continue to fight fiercely, with reports that many of those uprooted across four townships are facing severe food shortages.

Thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Thandwe, Rathedaung, Pauktaw and Ponnagyun townships are reportedly going hungry due to a lack of humanitarian assistance and junta travel restrictions, according to IDPs and aid workers.

“We can’t even eat broken rice and have to eat rice porridge. We want to feed our children sufficiently,” said an IDP from Ngapali's Jeitaw Ward. “We don’t know how to solve our livelihood hardships as the prices of rice continue to rise.”

IDPs face livelihood hardships and soaring commodity prices due to junta blockades implemented since the latest fighting began in Arakan State on November 13.

IDPs face severe food shortages as the regime has barred local and international organisations from providing humanitarian aid to many of those in need in Arakan State.

“We struggle to make ends meet due to lack of regular income. We can’t buy meat as we can’t work. Sometimes we have to eat rice porridge,” said an IDP woman from Sittwe who is taking refuge in Pauktaw Township.

Local charities are also facing challenges such as not being able to gather members or find funding to continue their operations, as members themselves are fleeing the fighting.

“We provide relief items to IDPs in Rathedaung Township if there are donors,” said an official from the Ponnagyun Youths Association. “IDPs from Mose Island have to eat rice porridge due to food shortages. We can’t go there due to the regime artillery strikes from the military’s Sittwe-based battalions. It is not convenient for us to go to Rathedaung due to rising fuel prices.”

IDPs in Ponnagyun Township also face food challenges and are in need of emergency assistance, said an official from the Lin Yaung Chi Foundation.

“The number of IDPs facing food shortages has been on the rise. Children with weak immune systems are seeing their development stunted due to insufficient nutrition, and diseases are becoming more common. We are helping IDPs, but it is not enough, so we want other groups to help them as well,” the official added.

“The resumption of conflict since last November has displaced an estimated 310,000 people in Rakhine [Arakan State] and Paletwa Township in [neighbouring] Chin [State],” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitaruan Affairs said in a report on July 1. “In addition to those who were already displaced, this brings the total estimated displacement in Rakhine to likely well over 510,000 people.”

The aid agency added: “More than half a year since the renewed fighting, displaced and conflict- affected people across Rakhine have been subject to increasing food prices in the most affected markets and a widespread shortage of critical household items, including medicines and hygiene kits. The closure of roads and waterways continues to hinder humanitarian operations, affecting the movement of supplies both within and from outside the state.”