Anthony — Local people say there is a need of healthcare in most of the villages as they don’t have any government clinics, and the transportation in rural areas of Maw Chi, Pharsaung Township, is poor.
Daw Tuu Mar from Youkaw Kho Village says there is a hardship access of healthcare as they don’t have any government clinics for villagers at Youkaw Kho Village (13-Hill).
“If you want to go to regional health department, it would be fine only if you have car or motorbike. You sometimes have to go further to Pharsaung as there is no doctor when you reach there. We feel more tired as we are sick and we have to travel further as well,” Daw Tuu Mar says.
It says there are difficulties as the transportation is poor and the emergency patients have to go to Lokhar Lo Village or Loikaw for treatment.
In case of healthcare, Daw Tuu Mar says currently they could only rely on the clinic operated by Pa Bwar Kalu (Karen) Social Development Women Group.
She says “We could only rely on Sayama Magret Sein for healthcare as we don’t have any regional health department. It is hard and far to go somewhere else like Lokhar Lo if Sayama is not there. It is sometimes very difficult if she is not free.”
Sayama Magret Sein, the chairperson of Pa Bwar Kalu (Karen) Social Development Women Group, says, “The clinic nurse comes staying for only two hours and provide the treatment and return back; we also have to give a ride her with motorbike and she does not check any other health issues. Actually, you are supposed to check every health issue if you enter to the field, but we do not see any like this.”
At the clinic operated by Pa Bwar Kalu (Karen) Social Development Women Group we mostly see the patients from lead-working site who is poisoned by lead or whose lungs are broken due to Air Gun.
There are also some patients having treatment for seasonal diarrhea and flu.
As there are totally 57 villages in Maw Chi Region and they have only a hospital in Lokhar Lo Village, they arrange branched clinics in the villages located on top of mount. However, the responsible nurses could not accomplish their duty full-time as the transportation is poor and high risk of landslide.
It says they could access basic healthcare only after the mobile healthcare provider from Mobile Clinic is arrived.
