Pregnant mothers in the Daw Noe Ku IDP camp along the Thai-Karenni border have expressed concerns about malnutrition affecting their unborn children due to insufficient access to nutritious food.

The displaced persons in the camp are heavily reliant on donations from benefactors for survival. However, pregnant mothers are unable to afford protein-rich and nutrient-dense foods like meat and fish due to a lack of income and employment opportunities.

A pregnant mother explained, “The nutritional powder is provided by the health organization, which is very limited. Therefore, if we don’t have money, we can’t afford to buy additional supplies. With the budget in hands, we can afford to purchase and consume it. Proper nutrition is essential and a critical need as we realized, but without sufficient funds, we cannot maintain a proper diet. This directly affects our child, which is also increasing the risk of malnutrition.”

Currently, the Daw Noe Ku IDP camp has 14 pregnant women and 4 recently postpartum mothers.

Pregnant mothers need to have a fully nutritious diet for their babies to grow healthily and develop faster. Without proper nutrition, children are at risk of becoming malnourished, said a health clinic worker.

“During pregnancy, mothers are provided with one packet of nutritional powder per month. However, that single packet is not enough for a month. If they need more, the price of nutritional powder is very high. Because they cannot eat a balanced and sufficient diet, malnutrition can occur,” the health clinic worker explained.

Although some organizations have donated funds and nutritional supplements to pregnant women in Karenni’s IDP camps, these efforts are not sufficient to cover all camps.

Since the military coup, malnutrition rates among pregnant women in displacement camps have risen, and healthcare services remain inaccessible in remote and hard-to-reach areas, according to health workers.