Maungdaw, Arakan State: A woman died during childbirth after being denied admission to Maungdaw General Hospital yesterday, according to a close relative of the victim who wished to remain anonymous.
The woman - Roshida, 39; wife of Goni - hailed from Ward number 5, Maungdaw, the relative said.
At around 10:00 am on November 5, Goni and Abdul (Roshida’s father) accompanied her to the hospital to admit her for delivery, but the doctor on duty would not admit her because she was Rohingya, said Abdul in a hopeless voice.
According to a social worker, the doctor told Goni and Abdul that, “This hospital is not for treatment of Kalar or Bengali. Go to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) they will give you treatment.”
They then returned to their home and tried to get treatment from a local traditional midwife, but at around 2:00am Roshida had died during childbirth, the social worker said.
In northern Arakan, 85 percent of deliveries still take place at home with the help of unskilled or semi-skilled traditional midwives. In the event of complications, they bring the expectant mothers into the hospital when the situation worsens, which may risk the life of the mother and her child, said a doctor from Maungdaw who did not wish to be named.
After the conflicts between Rakhine and Rohingya communities in Arakan state intensified last year, the hatred policy against the Rohingya people has increased day by day, said a local trader named Salim (not his given name) from Maungdaw.
Local Rohingyas have no hospital or clinic and many people die because of the lack of proper treatment and medicine, the man added.
