Sami IDPs in difficulty due to lack of doctors

(Photo: COVID-19 awareness and materials support given to IDPs in Sami, Paletwa Township by CHRO and CYO Matupi)

5 November 2020 – Conflict-affected villagers taking shelter in Sami, Paletwa Township have been in ‘hot water’ as there are no medical doctors in the town.

Salai Myo Theik, a Chin MP, said that a doctor from Kanpetlet had once been sent to Sami but had left the town owing to his bad health, adding: “An assistant surgeon who was supposed to be based in Sami has been assigned in Paletwa Town and therefore, there is no doctor in Sami at the moment.”

According to sources from Sami, those IDPs who were ill or injured from the conflict were taken to the nearest towns such as Matupi and Mindat if their conditions were beyond what nurses at the 15-bedded station hospital could handle.

“They were sent to Matupi hospital from Sami. Some were referred to Mindat hospital again. And if they were more serious, the Mindat hospital told them to go to Mandalay. As they were IDPs, they faced much difficulty. We tried our best to help and provide support,” a leading member of community-based committee that helps IDPs in Mindat told the Chinland Guardian on condition of anonymity.

The Paletwa Chin MP also said that the medical staff currently based in Sami were struggling as more IDPs had arrived in the town.

According to the Chin Human Rights Organization, there are over 3,000 IDPs currently stranded in Sami town alone due to the ongoing conflict between Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Paletwa Township, Chin State. – Reporting by Cer Len Ci and Naomy VT Chin