Not enough toilets for hundreds of thousands of Arakan State IDPs

By Admin 26 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
26 October 2024, Kyauktaw

Many internally displaced people (IDPs) taking refuge at displacement camps in Arakan State are short of not only food, shelter and warm clothing, but also latrines.

There is only one functioning latrine at the Maha Kangyi Shin displacement camp in Kyauktaw Town, where more than 300 people are taking shelter, according to IDPs.

"There are three latrines, but only one of them is working. We have to get up at 4 a.m. to join the queue to use the latrine," said a woman from the camp.

Camp managers blame financial constraints and lack of assistance for the problem and their inability to address it.

In Pauktaw Township, tens of thousands of displaced people taking shelter with relatives and at farms outside villages are faced with similar issues. Women are particularly at risk.

One displaced woman said: "We can't build toilets as we want in other people's villages. It is not convenient to use the latrines at relatives' homes every day. So, when we need the toilet, we go to the riverside. But we have to wait until it is dark. So, I have to withhold bowel movements."

She said she has started to suffer from constipation, flatulence and loss of appetite.

People in crowded displacement camps with few toilets are at risk of diarrhoea and other health issues, with these problems especially experienced by women.

"Normally, a latrine has water and tissue. But we don't have a latrine, forcing us to pee and poop behind bushes. There is no water to clean ourselves. This has affected our hygiene," said an IDP in Ponnagyun Township.

Displaced women say they do not feel safe relieving themselves out in the open, which they say exposes them to the risk of harassment.

More than 600,000 people have been displaced by the latest fighting between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) in Arakan State since November, with many in need of food, shelter and medicines.