Residents of junta-controlled Sittwe City, the Arakan (Rakhine) state capital, who have health problems are struggling to get treated due to a severe shortage of all medicines, even basic and essential medication.
The situation worsened in June 2025 after the junta tightened restrictions on the import of drugs into Sittwe City.
Previously, most medicine in Sittwe City came from Yangon City, but after hostilities between the Arakan Army and the junta resumed in Arakan State in November 2023, the junta blockaded all land river and sea routes to Sittwe City and did not let any drugs through.
But, the junta did not prevent drugs being flown into Sittwe City. People could still personally order the medication they needed from Yangon pharmacies and have it flown in because, though pharmacies and other drug retailers were not allowed to fly in bulk quantities of medicine, the junta was still allowing personal quantities of medicine to be flown in.
But, in June 2025, that all changed when the junta restricted imports of personal medicines by air. Now, if people want to order drugs from Yangon and have them flown in, they have to have a prescription for the drugs, otherwise the junta will not allow them to be delivered. Whilst the shortages previously affected mainly medicines for chronic conditions, even the most basic and commonly used drugs are now in short supply.
A woman displaced from Sittwe City who is currently sheltering in Yangon City said: “Until last month, people could still get medicines flown into Sittwe, but since June, the junta has been enforcing restrictions on that too. We’ve heard that the medicine shortage in Sittwe is really bad right now.”
A woman living in Sittwe City said: ““My son was sick, and I was looking everywhere for Biogesic [a fever relief medicine] and saline solution powder, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. That’s why I had to urgently place an order from Yangon. It’s the rainy season now, so things like runny noses and coughs are common, but even basic medicines just aren’t available.”
In May, an elderly woman with heart disease in Sittwe City, whose family did not want her identified, passed away because her family could not get her essential medication anywhere in Sittwe City.
A young Sittwe resident who was close to the deceased woman’s family said: “She had a heart condition and she passed away in May because we just couldn’t find the medication she needed. It wasn’t available at any pharmacy or hospital. If she had gotten the medicine in time, I believe she’d still be with us today.”
Fighting between the AA and junta in Sittwe Township, which includes Sittwe City, has forced many Sittwe Township residents to flee to Yangon and other cities. Currently the only people remaining in Sittwe City are mainly either poor residents who cannot afford to leave or employees of junta-run administration departments.
