AB News – April 3, 2024
The outbreak of a fast-spreading diarrheal disease has led to the hospitalization of hundreds of children in the Thekke Pyin, Ohn Taw Gyi, and Phwe Ra Goon of Saythamar Gyi Village Track refugee camps in the Sittwe township, and there have been fatalities among the children, AB News has found out.
It was discovered that the outbreak started spreading from Phwe Ra Goon refugee camp of Saythamar Gyi Village Track in the last week of March.
Children affected by the disease in these three camps are receiving emergency medical treatment at Thekke Pyin hospital, as reported by a villager from that village. “Children in these three camps are suffering from diarrhea. They are being treated at Thekke Pyin hospital. The entire hospital is filled with children suffering from this disease, and there have been fatalities among the children,” he added.
Currently, around 70 children from the Phwe Ra Goon refugee camp are receiving medical treatment, and the disease is also spreading to nearby villages.
Children in the Ohn Taw Gyi camp are also suffering from the fast-spreading diarrheal disease, according to Ko Than Chay from the camp who spoke to AB News.
“Children in our camp are suffering from a rapidly spreading diarrheal disease. My own 1-year-old daughter is suffering from it, as is a neighbor’s child. My daughter had diarrhea and vomited all night, requiring two nights of hospital treatment. Many children in the village are suffering from diarrhea,” he said.
While Muslim refugee, Ko Than Chay’s daughter has been receiving treatment at the hospital, four children died on March 30 from the rapidly spreading diarrheal disease.
“While my daughter was receiving treatment at Thekke Pyin Hospital, I witnessed four other children die from diarrhea. Over 50 other children are also suffering from the disease,” he continued.
On March 30, a child from the Ohn Taw Gyi village developed the disease at night, and by the morning of April 1, had died while receiving medical treatment.
The Thekke Pyin hospital is facing a shortage of medicines, and the cost of medical treatment has become prohibitively high for Muslim refugees, making it extremely difficult for them to receive treatment. “The hospital has run out of medicines. A woman over 30 told me she couldn’t afford medicine for her child. No one is there to help. It’s truly pitiful,” a refugee from Phwe Ra Goon refugee camp said.
He continued, explaining that if the children suffering from diarrhea could receive a full course of medicine, they would quickly recover.
In the last week of March when the outbreak started, the ACF provided medicines for the patients receiving treatment at Thekke Pyin Hospital, but the situation has become dire when this support has since been halted, making it exceedingly difficult for the Muslim refugees to receive medical treatment.
AB News continues to investigate the outbreak of rapidly spreading diarrheal disease in the Muslim refugee camps in the Sittwe township.
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