Displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in the villages of Naungchain and Laban in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State are experiencing severe food shortages and urgently need assistance.
Previously, the World Food Programme (WFP) had been providing food and cash assistance to IDPs in Waingmaw Township, but that ran out in mid-July 2024.
The displaced people in Naungchain and Laban villages come from the villages of Shwenyinpin and Aungmyay (2), also in Waingmaw Township. They have been fleeing their homes since 7 March 2024.
Currently, there are more than 600 IDPs sheltering in Laban, a village of about 130 houses.
An IDP from Aungmyay (2) Village who is currently sheltering in Laban Village said to Kachin News Group (KNG): “Since the assistance has stopped coming, we are now facing shortages of food and water. We don't have anywhere to find food, and we don’t know where to go to search for it. It's very distressing. Large families without any income are facing extreme hardship.”
She added that the IDPs in Naungchain and Laban villages are now having to survive on minimal amounts of aid from local religious groups and nearby villages.
All the IDPs, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly are now living in cramped makeshift camps of tarpaulin shelters which has led to an increase in health issues and a pressing need for medical assistance, food and shelter.
A woman sheltering at an IDP camp in Naungchain Village said: “People are constantly getting sick, one illness after another. No sooner do they recover from one than they catch another. They've been experiencing a constant cycle of sickness. There are no medicines. They don't have any money to buy them. The available medicines are also very expensive. Medicines are very difficult to get.”
Six IDP camps have been set up around the villages of Naungchain and Laban. Each camp is home to fugitives from a single Waingmaw Township village. The most vulnerable of the IDPs are those who fled from Aung Myat (2) and Shwe Nyaung Pin villages who are now sheltering in two camps on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, in Laban Village.
