People displaced (IDPs) from Minpalaung Village in Ywangan Township in southern Shan State, currently sheltering in forest nearby the village, urgently need medical assistance following a malaria outbreak.
The IDPs have been sheltering in the forest near to Minpalaung Village in Ywangan Township, which is in the Danu Self-Administered Zone, since junta soldiers set fire to the village on 22 December 2024 and burnt down 168 of the village’s 179 houses.
Since the rainy season began in early June, malaria cases have been widespread amongst the IDPs sheltering in the forest, according to Ko Kyar Pyan, a spokesperson for the Danu State National Defence Army (DSNDA) resistance organisation.
He said: “The malaria situation is really bad. Almost everyone has gotten it, not just the IDPs, but nearly all of us on the team helping them, including myself. Some people got it so bad they even lost consciousness.”
He said that about 200 IDPs have been infected with malaria since the beginning of the monsoon season when the infections started. Fortunately so far, no deaths from malaria have been reported.
Ko Kyar Pyan also explained that because there is only a limited stockpile of malaria drugs they are unable to provide a full course of drugs to every patient.
He said: “For example, a full course of treatment needs three days of medication. But when there are a lot of patients, we can’t give everyone the full three days, sometimes it’s only one or two days. That’s why the malaria isn’t getting cleared.”
Local civil society organisations (CSOs) are supplying as much medicine as possible, but the demand is still overwhelming. Aid workers from these CSOs also said urgent funding is needed to purchase more medicine.
The IDPs from Minpalaung Village sheltering in the forest also urgently need Mosquito nets, food, and other forms of assistance.
As well as suffering from malaria, the IDPs are also suffering from skin diseases, such as scabies, as a result of drinking unclean water from streams.
To make matters worse for the IDPs, during the rainy season damaged roads make transportation in the area difficult and mean that donors have little to no access to the area.
