Thousands of IDPs need aid in remote Ponnagyun Twsp 

By Admin 25 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
25 May 2024, Ponnagyun

Thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Tawphyarchaung, a remote area in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, are reportedly in urgent need of shelters, food and healthcare services.

At least 10,000 IDPs from Sittwe and Ponnagyun townships are taking refuge in villages in the Tawphyarchaung area and they face livelihood hardships due to lack of support from local and international organisations.

“The monsoon season is approaching, but we are still worried about accommodation. We will not be able to return home for the time being. We have run out of medicine and food,” said Daw Ma Khin Hsan, an IDP woman from Ohnyaypaw Village in Sittwe Township.

The IDPs are from Ohnyaypaw, Nyoyaungchaung, Wabo, Chilaephin and Kwetel villages in Sittwe Township, Ponnagyun town, and nearby villages. They have been taking shelter in the Tawphyarchaung area for nearly four months.

As the days in displacement have gone by, some IDPs have run out of money and are currently borrowing from others to buy food, they said.

Residents from villages in the Tawphyarchaung area face difficulties accessing education and healthcare due to poor mobile phone and internet access, and travel barriers. IDPs face even greater hardships as the regime has banned local and international organisations from delivering relief items to those in need in Arakan State.

“We assist IDPs as much as we can, but it is not enough because there are thousands of IDPs in the area. IDPs will be OK only if they are provided with necessary assistance by international organisations,” said an official from Poeshweepyin Mahameik Social Organisation.

The elderly, children and pregnant women are among the IDPs, and they especially need more healthcare services.

“There are about 60 IDP families in our village. The villagers cannot provide them with necessary assistance in the long run. I want relief groups to come and help IDPs in the Tawphyarchaung area as soon as possible ahead of the rainy season,” said the administrator of Sankar Village.

There are over 54,000 IDPs in Ponnagyun Township, according to the Ponnagyun Youths Association (PYA).