Shelter and food needs are high for Karenni IDPs during the rainy season

Photo – Some of the displaced persons in Frugoso Township, Karenni State. During the rainy season, there are significant needs for shelter and food for those displaced in Karenni State, according to the Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiative (KHAI). (CTER-Karenni) 001 (July 1) Mizzima. During the rainy season, there are significant needs for shelter and food for those displaced in Karenni State, according to the Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiative (KHAI). “Regarding shelter, how to say it, it’s always very hot in the summer. Then the rainy season comes again. At that time, there is a lot of deterioration, so the needs are very high. We always receive requests,” a responsible person from KHAI told Mizzima today (July 1). Regarding food, it is said that requests for assistance from displacement camps are received daily, and there are significant needs. Furthermore, with the onset of the rainy season, diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are becoming prevalent again in Karenni State. The Karenni Clinic also issued a statement on June 23, stating that children and the elderly are particularly suffering from mosquito bites, and that mosquito nets, mosquito repellent sprays, and mosquito coils are urgently needed to prevent diseases. Currently, during the rainy season, road conditions in Karenni State are deteriorating, and difficulties are being encountered in the transportation of goods. In particular, travel is difficult on the roads leading to Phasaung, Mese, and Demoso. “It is no longer easy to transport goods coming from Mese to Demoso. It is also no longer easy to transport goods coming from Demoso to Mese and Phasaung. Now, on the road, there are instances of waiting for up to three weeks. If you were to travel by car, even then, the car might break down. It’s like that. But now, we don’t go much. The road is also very bad,” said the KHAI official. According to data from the Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG), the number of displaced persons in Karenni State has exceeded 200,000 due to fighting, airstrikes by the military junta, and acts of terrorism since the military coup. Furthermore, the KnHRG stated in May that livelihood difficulties are becoming more severe in Karenni State due to targeted attacks on food and income sources, lack of income for local people and displaced persons, and exorbitant price increases for goods, and that a famine may be faced in the future. Editor: Aung Kyaw Phyo