By Kantarawaddy Times
Displaced civilians living in war-torn Demawso Township in Karenni State have started building a clinic in their camp after rain made it difficult to seek medical care elsewhere. But they say they lack medical staff, medicines, tables and beds.
“Right now we can only give people pills,” a woman in charge of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp told Kantarawaddy Times, on condition of anonymity.
Another anonymous woman at the camp, where 1,000 people have sought refuge, said: “Currently, we’ve to walk at least 30 minutes to reach a clinic in another area. If you’re travelling by motorbike, you can easily be involved in an accident because the road is muddy.”
According to the camp leader, they’ve asked the Karenni State Consultative Council as well as private donors and aid agencies to provide materials for the construction of the clinic, which started on 2 July.
The civilian watchdog group, Progressive Karenni People’s Force, have reported IDPs urgently need health care service and medicines. Since the coup happened, at least 33 in the camps have died from various causes.
Khoon Philip, the director of Civil Health and Development Network, said that babies and pregnant women died when they didn’t get medical care.
“When pregnant women do not receive proper medical care during their pregnancy, the risk of stillbirth or premature birth and an underweight baby increases,” said a doctor in Burma, who asked that his name not be disclosed.
