Around 2,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in the western part of Nganzun Township, Mandalay Region, are suffering from diarrhoea and seasonal flu, according to volunteers assisting them.

They said more than 1,000 people are affected by seasonal flu and nearly 1,000 are suffering from diarrhoea. This comes amid an urgent shortage of medicines.

“Seasonal flu and diarrhoea are widespread. The lack of well water and issues with drinking water are contributing factors. I’ve built small latrines on the island, but now the river water has risen, flooding them, so people are likely wading through water. Some lack proper shelter and food, so I’ve personally taken in over 100 people. Medicines have completely run out, and we can’t manage anymore,” one aid worker told Mizzima.

Displaced residents from Moetaung and Ngan Mynar Gyi villages have been fleeing to safer areas since July 2024.

The displacement has now lasted more than a year, with little donor support left. Volunteers said that since the March earthquake, humanitarian aid has sharply declined, worsening their situation.

Seasonal flu and diarrhoea are affecting mainly children under 10 and adults over 40. Healthcare workers and doctors are unable to travel to Nganzun Township due to terrain difficulties and security risks, while residents have been unable to reach Sagaing for treatment since November 2024.

“Non-farmers can’t even afford rice. Many are surviving by catching fish or frogs. Some go hungry to feed their young children. Due to reports of killings in Myingyan, people here are too afraid to return home and are hiding in the forests and mountains. Their stockpiled rice is already depleted,” said a local.

Due to arrests, killings, and ongoing military operations by the junta, villagers from the Moetaung village group including Lonekhin, Ywar Tha Aye, Shweli, Lal Kyin Oo, Kyaung Myauk, Ywarma, Ngan Mynar Gyi, Ywarthit, Sakhanta, and Thakyin remain in hiding in nearby forests and mountains.