More than a thousand people displaced by fighting in Magway Region’s Pauk township have contracted various skin diseases due to deteriorating hygiene conditions, according to relief workers.
Civilians sheltering in forested areas lack access to clean water and many, including infants and children, have developed serious rashes as a result, a National Unity Government (NUG) humanitarian aid official told Myanmar Now.
“The rainwater has run out, so they have been using water from lakes and springs. After relying on the same sources for drinking, bathing, and daily use over a long period, many now have skin infections,” said the official from the NUG’s Pauk Township Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Management Department.
“They seem to be affected by scabies, eczema, and ringworm. Children have been scratching constantly due to severe itching, which in some cases has developed into boils.”
He added that some infections have been worsened by efforts to treat them without proper medication, which is not available in many areas.
To combat the problem, the NUG says it is attempting to provide not just more medicine, but also safe drinking water, delivered to those who need it through a system of pipes.
This approach is more effective than digging wells due to the nature of the current situation, according to the NUG official.
“The cost of digging wells would be high, with additional ongoing expenses for generators and fuel. Moreover, if displaced people return home, the wells would have to be left behind. Located in the forests rather than near farmlands, these wells cannot be recovered once the area is abandoned, whereas pipelines can be removed and reused when people move out,” he said, noting that funding constraints remain a challenge.
There are estimated to be at least 24,000 displaced civilians in Pauk Township, including some from villages near the regime’s Ordnance Factory No. 24 who have not been able to return to their homes since 2023.
Recent junta advances in Pauk Township have caused some 10,000 people from more than 30 villages to be temporarily displaced this month alone, according to NUG estimates.
Starting January 12, a junta column of 300 troops has been moving through the township, supplying rations to villages controlled by the pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia.
The township, with a population of more than 200,000, is regarded as a resistance stronghold. Bordering Chin State, where the regime has also faced fierce opposition to its rule, it has been a frequent target of junta airstrikes.
Major outbreaks of infectious diseases have been a recurring problem in Myanmar since the country’s military seized power nearly five years ago, triggering a civil war that the United Nations estimates has displaced more than 3.6 million people.
Large numbers of skin infections have also been reported recently among children under the age of 15 in Karenni State, according to local news outlet the Kantarawaddy Times.
In February of last year, nearly 4,000 people in southern Rakhine State’s Gwa Township were affected by severe skin rashes amid ongoing junta airstrikes and a military blockade that left most residents without access to adequate healthcare.
Overcrowding among displaced people living in temporary camps also contributed to the problem, local health authorities said.
