Ann residents call for improved healthcare services

By Admin 28 Mar 2026

DMG Newsroom

28 March 2026, Ann

Residents in Ann Township, Arakan State, are facing serious medical challenges due to a shortage of healthcare services and clinics, and are calling on the United League of Arakan (ULA) to provide urgent assistance.

Locals report that a lack of medicine and insufficient clinics, even for common illnesses such as colds and coughs, is forcing patients to seek treatment in other townships.

“Malaria is very common here. Since locals mostly use spring water from the forest, cases of diarrhoea also occur frequently. Even so, there are no clinics for medical treatment. Whenever something happens, we have to go to other towns for treatment,” said a woman from Htanchaung Village in Ann Township.

Malaria and diarrhoea are among the most common illnesses in the township. Due to the absence of doctors and emergency medical facilities, residents are urging authorities to establish health services in every village-tract.

Ann Township lies below the Arakan mountain range, with many villages located in remote areas where transportation is difficult. In these areas, weak health awareness, a lack of clinics, and limited access to medicine continue to leave communities without adequate care.

“People from villages with difficult transportation first have to carry patients on stretchers to our village. Then they have to borrow money and hire cars to reach a place with a hospital. A lot of time is lost this way, and many patients have died,” said another resident from Htanchaung Village.

Ann Township has more than 240 villages and a population of over 120,000. According to the 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, about 70 percent are Arakanese and 30 percent belong to Chin ethnic groups.

Healthcare services in most villages have remained weak since the previous government. The 2014 census reported that the under-five mortality rate in Ann is the highest among townships in Arakan State.

Since renewed fighting began in Arakan State, the regime has blocked food and medicine supplies, leaving rural residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs) facing worsening health conditions.

“A seven-month-old baby in this village died about three months ago. They could not even afford the travel costs to seek treatment and had to watch the child suffer. If there were doctors nearby, we would at least know the cause of death,” said a woman in Gantgaw Village.

Although the ULA’s Department of Health is known to provide mobile medical services in Ann Township, residents say these rarely reach the most remote areas.

The Arakan Army took control of Ann Township in December 2025. As the ULA continues to establish administrative systems, residents are calling for urgent access to medicines and improved healthcare services.