In Tonzang Town, in Tonzang Township, northern Chin State, commodity prices are skyrocketing, and a severe medicine shortage means it is hard for residents to even buy painkillers.

A coalition of Chin civil society and political organisations under the Chin National Front (CNF) has set up a clinic in Tonzang Town to try and help treat people in need.

A woman who had returned to Tonzang Town after being displaced by fighting said to Khonumthung News: “Food and consumer goods are available, but the prices are excessively high. Medicines are in short supply, with commonly used antihypertensive drugs, saline powder, painkillers, and laxatives almost completely out of stock. When painkillers and laxatives are not available, even minor health issues become challenging to treat. The Chin National Front (CNF) has opened a clinic in the town, but doctors can only examine patients as they lack the necessary medications for treatment.”

The junta has set up the 8-Mile Checkpoint near to the University’s main entrance in Sagaing Region’s Kale Town, on the only road to northern Chin State towns, such as Khaikam, Tedim, and Rikhawdar, from neighbouring Sagaing Region.

The junta has been conducting strict checks on all vehicles and prohibiting the transportation of rice or medicine into Chin State, leading to worsening drug shortages and price increases in Tonzang Town and the rest of northern Chin State.

Tonzang Town residents have to travel to Tedim and Kale Towns if they have a medical emergency or need to have surgery or give birth.

Lorries from Kale Town are allowed to go to Tonzang Town, but they are not allowed to take any rice there. This has led to an increase in food prices. A container of sunflower oil has increased from the usual 150,000 MMK to 210,000 MMK. A single egg is now 1,000 MMK and a bar of soap costs 2,500 MMK, whereas in neighbouring northern Sagaing Region an egg costs about 400 MMK and a bar of soap costs 1,500 MMK.

Tonzang has a population of about 8,000 people living in about 1,000 households. About two-thirds of that population were previously displaced from the town by fighting but have now returned.

A female Tonzang Town resident said to Khonumthung News: "Typically, families without school-aged children and those who are not government employees are returning to Tonzang. While the town is becoming crowded again, there are hardly any jobs available to earn an income. We also considered living in Kale Town, but it is very expensive, especially when it comes to rent. Given the current hardships, we don’t even know how to move forward.”

On 15 May 2024, Chin resistance forces under the Chinland Government’s Ministry of Defence launched offensives agains junta military bases in the northern Chin towns of Cikha and Tonzang. They captured Cikha Town on 19 May 2024 and Tonzang Town on 23 May 2024.

Currently, Tonzang Town is controlled by the Chin National Army (CNA), the armed wing of the CNF.