The government refuses to send full-time nurses to work in their unregistered clinics, say residents.
By KANTARAWADDY TIMES
Residents of two villages in Karenni State’s Hpruso Township say their calls for medicine and nurses to staff their local clinics are being ignored.
“We’ve had a clinic for four years, but we don’t have a nurse,” Byar Reh, an elderly resident of Doh Pareh village, told the Kantarawaddy Times. “If we need medical treatment, we have to go to Hpruso Public Hospital, which isn’t easy for us, especially at night,” he said.
“We already have a clinic, so we just need a regular nurse and medicine,” he added.
Residents of Solyarku, another village in Hpruso Township with an unstaffed medical clinic, say they have been asking for a nurse since 2016 but haven’t been able to get one because their clinic isn’t registered with the government’s healthcare department.
“The current government won’t give us a regular nurse because our clinic is not registered. That means they are ignoring the voice of the people,” said Solyarku resident Sue Reh.
Residents of both villages say the government occasionally sends nurses, but only on a short-term basis.
“Sometimes a nurse will arrived at our village, but then she’ll leave after giving a few injections,” said Doh Pareh resident Deh Reh.
Government medical officials typically tour these villages once every three months to make field observations.