Pregnant women in Longshayan village groups in Putao Township are facing a hard time because health workers left the rural healthcare centers and clinics since the military staged a coup.
The pregnant women in the village have no choice but to go to Putao Township Hospital for vaccinations and other required treatments, which is more than 25 miles away from their village, the local pregnant women said.
They face difficulties to receive such necessary treatments because the fuel price is currently sky-high and the journey is too far, Daw Akhorn, a local pregnant woman told Myitkyina News Journal.
“There is no place to consult for the pregnancy. There are no doctors or nurses in the regional hospital. Pregnant women are in deep trouble. I decided not to go to Putao to save the cost of motorcycle rent”, Daw Akhorn added.
Similarly, pregnant women from Tanja village located 5 miles away from Longshayan village are facing the same difficulties. There are some pregnant women waiting to receive vaccinations in the village, said Tanja village residents.
Previously, health workers from Longshayan used to go to Tanja to apply for necessary healthcare but there were no more health officials coming around since the military coup, said Daw Sisilya, a pregnant woman from Tanja.
“Communication is also very hard. There are many people who don’t know how to go to Putao or who can’t drive a bike. And there are a lot of people who haven’t gotten vaccinated”, she continued.
There are around 10 pregnant women in Tanja yet a few of them were able to go to the Putao Township Hospital and get vaccinated”, she said.
Putao is located more than 200 miles away from Myitkyina, the Capital City of Kachin State. The transportation challenges in Putao are more difficult than other regions.
When nurses and other health workers were around, the local pregnant women were able to give birth conveniently as instructed by them, but at the present time, she starts to worry because there are only midwives left in the village.
“Now, there are no more nurses coming to us. I am very worried if I have to choose to give birth at home. Some decided to give birth with the help of old midwives in the village. I may also have to get help from the local midwives if there are no clinics or hospitals to go to”, she said.
There is an old midwife she knows in the village and if the situation turns to emergency, she will choose to give birth with the help of that woman, Daw Sisilya added. “Of course I am very worried but I will have to choose what is possible”, she admitted.
She added that if an emergency situation occurred during childbirth, she would have to go to the Putao Hospital. And because of the current price of gasoline, she would have to pay at least 70000 Kyats to rent a car, so she would face financial difficulties, Daw Sisilya said.
Around a population of 4000 lives in Longshaya according to the 2014 census and the number of pregnant women in the village may be as high as hundreds, Daw Akhorn noted.
A resident of Tanja village also said that he would like to have some transport vehicles in the village to help local pregnant women in case of emergency.
Fighting broke out between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Military Council troops in February of this year in the vicinity of Longshayan village. The airstrikes from the Military forced many locals to flee to nearby forest areas.
In addition, military council soldiers were stationed in Longshayan and Tanja villages.
Normally, the pregnant woman receives the tetanus and diphtheria vaccines during 4-week and 28-week time of pregnancy, Dr. Oli, a CDM OG explained. The vaccination process during pregnancy is very important to prevent certain diseases for the child who will be born, he emphasized.
U Khet Htain Nan, the current Chief Minister of Kachin State installed by the Military Council told Myitkyina News Journal that he will try to solve the problems such as the insufficiency of doctors and clinics in rural areas if the locals report their difficulties to the relevant departments or authorities.
