Growing impatience over rural Ann Twsp hospital’s protracted construction

By DMG 25 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
25 April 2022, Ann

Locals want Kyaukmyaung Station Hospital in Arakan State’s Ann Township to be opened as soon as possible, as about 10,000 people from 11 villages in the area are expecting to rely on the facility for healthcare services once it is operational. 

Construction of Kyaukmyaung Station Hospital, located on Thapyuchaing Island, began in 2014 under former President U Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government, and some eight years later has yet to be completed.

“There are 11 villages in this area with a population of about 10,000. Construction of this hospital is only 65 percent completed. The hospital’s water tanks, toilets and an operation room still need to be built,” U Thein Shwe Oo, a 100-household administrator from Kyaukmyaung village told DMG.

At present, locals rely on a rural clinic run by the Department of Public Health, and the lack of doctors often leads to unnecessary deaths in emergencies, said U Tin Shwe Maung, a Kyaukmyaung villager.

“Kyaukmyaung village is difficult to get to and from, so some patients died on the way to the hospital. Some died unnecessarily because they did not have money to pay for the trip. I want this station hospital to open as soon as possible to prevent such incidents,” he added.

At present, emergency patients are transported to Ann Public Hospital, about 40 miles from Kyaukmyaung village, or Tat Taung Station Hospital, about 12 miles away from Kyaukmyaung village, by land routes and waterways, according to locals.

“The hospital has been under construction since 2014, but has not yet been completed. This is tantamount to ignoring the health needs of the locals,” said Ko Myo Lwin, a resident of Ann town.

DMG’s repeated attempts to contact the Ann Township Public Health Department for comment on the situation were unsuccessful.