Acute shortages of medicine and basic food supplies have hit western Hpruso Township in Myanmar’s eastern Karenni (Kayah) State, as monsoon rains and severely damaged roads isolate remote communities from vital supply routes.

Local clinics are running out of essential medical supplies, while staple foods—including rice, cooking oil, salt, and fish paste—have been depleted for nearly a month, residents said.

"We have a clinic here, but we are facing severe shortages," a local woman told Kantarawaddy Times. "We ordered medical supplies, but they cannot get through. Even trying to bring them in by tractor hasn't worked."

With roads completely impassable for trucks and tractors, the region is currently relying on a single tractor to haul goods, which falls far short of local demand.

To survive, residents are embarking on grueling eight-hour round-trips on foot to carry essentials back to their villages, driving up local commodity prices.

"Because of the road damage, neither trucks nor tractors can pass," a local man explained. "While motorcycles can navigate certain alternative routes, the journey requires an overnight stay. As a result, most shops have run out of stock, and people are hiring labor to carry oil and rice on foot."

In response to the growing crisis, residents have begun manually repairing the most critically damaged road sections in an effort to restore basic access for motorcycles and vehicles.