Concern grows over diarrhoea, malaria cases at Tanintharyi Region IDP camp of 6,000-plus residents

By DMG 01 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
1 August 2022, Thayetchaung, Tanintharyi Region

Amid outbreaks of diarrhoea and malaria at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Taungpyauk area, part of Tanintharyi Region’s Thayetchaung Township, there is almost no medicine to treat them, according to healthcare workers who are treating the IDPs.

Diarrhoea and malaria have become common in the IDP camp since the third week of June, according to a health worker providing medical care to the displaced people.

“Diarrhoea and malaria became more common among the IDPs from the third week of June. People in IDP camps are living in cramped quarters, which is one of the causes of disease,” the health worker added.

The Taungpyauk IDP camp is home to more than 6,000 people. The number of malaria and diarrhoea cases in the camp has reached more than 100, and they are in need of medical assistance to provide healthcare, the health worker said.

“The displacement camp runs out of medicine. There have been requests for medical aid, but it is difficult to get help because the military council’s forces are closing the roads and inspecting the travellers,” a camp official said.

It is also difficult to get shelter and food for the IDPs, aid workers said.

“We are trying our best to transport medicine, food and shelter to the displacement camps in a timely manner. We also had to avoid military checkpoints, so it was quite difficult to get there. We plan to send aid to the displaced people using all possible means,” one aid worker explained.

Myanmar military troops have been active in Thayetchaung Township since the third week of July, with military tensions between the Karen National Defence Organisation, a military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), and junta forces reportedly running high.