Due to a shortage of vaccines, mothers and children from Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-held Momauk Township in Kachin State are undertaking hazardous journeys through frontlines to get vaccinated in junta-held Waingmaw Town.
Previously children from Dawthponeyan Town in Momauk Township and nearby villages such as Manhseng, Lalon, Phakay, and Nawngnin, also in Momauk Township would get vaccinated in the long-time KIA stronghold of Laiza Town in Kachin State, where the KIA has its headquarters. But, now they cannot do so because of a shortage of vaccines in Laiza.
Laiza is only about 20 miles (about 32km) to the north and because both Laiza and Momauk Township are under the control of the KIA, people needing vaccines did not have to make a dangerous crossing into junta-controlled territory.
But now, children from Dawthponeyan Town and nearby villages who need to be vaccinated and their mothers have to travel to junta-held Waingmaw Town, about 72 miles (about 116km) to the north of Dawthponeyan Town, in Kachin State.
To get there they have to travel through villages where military tensions between junta and resistance forces are high. They also have to pass through strict military checkpoints to enter Waingmaw Town where there have been cases of soldiers arresting young men arriving at the town.
Bus fares for the journey between Dawthponeyan and Waingmaw Town cost up to 250,000 MMK each way which is too much for many families who instead choose to travel by motorcycle.
A Shan youth who is assisting people travelling for vaccines said: “Kids in Dawthponeyan Town and nearby villages are having a hard time getting vaccinated in Momauk Township. They used to get their vaccines in Laiza, but apparently the supplies there aren’t enough anymore. So, families have to take their kids all the way to Waingmaw for vaccination. The trip is really tough, and the cost is very high. Bus fares cost up to 250,000 MMK. Families who can’t afford that have no choice but to travel by motorbike instead.”
Another hurdle faced by those travelling for vaccines is that they need letters of recommendation from the KIA to travel from KIA-controlled villages and towns into the junta-controlled area. Obtaining such letters of permission is a complicated process that has to be done at KIA bases or KIA offices.
According to the Myanmar office of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), more than 1 million children in the country have been deprived of essential vaccines, and many children across Myanmar remain unvaccinated.
