Thousands of IDPs face food shortages in Thandwe

By Admin 18 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
18 November 2024, Thandwe

Thousands of local people displaced by fighting between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, are facing food security challenges, according to aid workers.

In addition to a general lack of humanitarian aid, IDPs face a food crisis due to pervasive unemployment and rising commodity prices.

"IDPs are in urgent need of food and medicine. Over 10,000 IDPs need an average of 50 bags of rice a day. There are fewer donors for IDPs and we are in crisis for this month," said an aid worker.

Local social aid groups as well as private individuals are helping as much as they can, but the large number of IDPs is making it difficult to meet their needs.

"We provide IDPs with relief items only if we have cash donations. If we don't have money, we buy rice from rice merchants on credit and donate it to IDPs," said another aid worker.

As winter has arrived, warm clothes and healthcare services are urgently needed for IDPs, and IDPs with chronic illnesses are having a particularly difficult time due to the scarcity of medicines and skyrocketing prices.

The AA has seized Thandwe Township, but IDPs are unable to return home due to the regime's frequent airstrikes. Among the IDPs are people from villages along Thandwe's Ngapali Beach and coastal Gwa Township.

"Previously, I made a living as a fisherman. Now, since the war, I have not had any job for a long time. The prices of goods are also skyrocketing. We are struggling to make ends meet," said an IDP from Jeittaw Village in Ngapali Town.

As many as 680,000 people in Arakan State have been displaced by fighting from the February 2021 coup through the end of October, and many of those IDPs are in need of food and medicine.