1.6 million people lose access to hospital care in Arakan: UNOCHA

By Admin 24 May 2024

DMG Newsroom
24 May 2024, Sittwe

Around 1.6 million people have lost access to hospital care in central and northern Arakan State, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported on Friday.

“The humanitarian situation in Rakhine [Arakan State] is particularly alarming with fighting intensifying and inter-communal tensions simmering. Access restrictions remain severe despite soaring needs. With the peak of the dry season, water scarcity and cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) have been widely reported,” said the UNOCHA Humanitarian Update on Myanmar.

One displaced person from Ponnagyun Township said: “We live in makeshift tents made with tarpaulin sheets. It is sizzling. We can’t sleep at night. And we can’t go to the hospital or clinic when we get sick.”

Many villages in Ponnagyun Township are facing severe water shortages and villagers are suffering health problems as a result of using unclean water.

The regime has blockaded roads and waterways in Arakan State since fighting with the Arakkha Army (AA) broke out some six months ago, effectively cutting off access to hospital care for many.

Pregnant women and newborns are particularly at risk as they cannot receive prenatal and postnatal care, including standard vaccination processes.

“I am worried for me and my baby as I can’t get regular health checks,” said a pregnant woman from Arakan State. 

Most hospitals and clinics in Arakan State have been forced to close due to a shortage of medicines, with the junta’s increasingly frequent air raids also threatening their operations.

Since the renewed fighting broke out on November 13, more than 180,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Arakan State and neighbouring Paletwa Township in Chin State. Those displaced are reportedly in need of food, shelter and medicines.