The UN have issued a statement announcing that they and other international aid organizations have delivered relief items to displaced people in Kachin State.
A 10-vehicle convoy travelled to the Hpakant area and brought shelter, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking sets, clothes and sanitary items to more than 2,000 refugees between February 17 and 21.
A spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards, told journalists in Geneva on March 1 that the visit was made possible after access was granted by the Myanmar Government.
The visit was the first to the area since January 2012 by the UN.
In October 2012, the Kachin Women's Association (KWAT) issued a report condemning the lack of assistance from international aid groups to the region.
About 100,000 people have been displaced in total since the Myanmar government broke a 17-year cease-fire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in June 2011, said the group.
The report entitled “From persecution to deprivation,” documented how nearly 60,000 people sheltering in Kachin-controlled areas have received only 4 per cent of their basic food needs from international aid groups, including the UN, said KWAT.
