Approximately 20,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in the southern Shan State townships of Taunggyi, Nyaungshwe, Pinlaung, and Kalaw urgently require aid and assistance.
Approximately 65,000 IDPs have fled to southern Shan State due to fighting in their home areas.
Of those, some 20,000 who are sheltering mainly in the forested areas of Taunggyi, Nyaungshwe, Pinlaung, and Kalaw townships are in urgent need of food, drinking water, and healthcare.
Many of the IDPs from Karenni State sheltering in the forest have been there since December 2022. Their numbers were swelled by new arrivals from Karenni State who were displaced by the resistance’s Operation 1111 Karenni State offensive that started on 11 November 2023.
Most of the other IDPs sheltering in the forest were displaced by fighting in the Meneitaung area of Shan State’s Hopong Township and nearby Lonhee Village in January 2024.
An ethnic Pa-O man from southern Shan State who is assisting IDPs sheltering in the forested areas of Nyaungshwe, Pinlaung, and Kalaw townships said: “Those who fled the clashes in the Meneitaung area and nearby Lonhee Village have been here for almost a year now, along with people from Karenni State. They are struggling to make ends meet without work. Employment is their only source of livelihood because over time the number of donors supporting them has been steadily decreasing.”
Many IDP families sheltering in the forested areas have had to resort to foraging for edible products in the forest and selling them to make some money to live.
An aid worker said to NMG: “Some IDPs make a living by selling vegetables, while others take on gruelling day labour jobs. However, some employers often pay them reduced wages. Some IDP families survive on just one meal a day.”
In villages such as Wali, Hsawngpyaung, Htivwa, and Leintnyar in the southern part of Pinlaung Township IDPs are also having to contend with shortages of drinking water.
Currently a barrel of drinking water costs 3,000 MMK in these villages, which is too expensive for most IDP families. As a result IDP children who no longer have access to clean drinking water are suffering from skin rashes and diarrhoea.
An IDP currently sheltering in southern Pinlaung Township said: “This year's water shortages are worse than last year. We haven’t even reached summer yet, but all the rainwater stored during the rainy season has already been used up. One barrel of water isn't even enough to last a family for a day. I wish there were people who would specifically donate water. For us, water and food are our most urgent needs.”
