Residents in remote Kyauktaw area struggle to access healthcare without hospital

By Admin 22 Jul 2026

DMG Newsroom

22 July 2026, Kyauktaw

Residents in the Yoe Creek area of Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, which is controlled by the Arakan Army, say they are facing severe healthcare hardships as there is not a single hospital serving more than 30 villages in the area.

Residents who fall ill must travel by boat to Kansauk Village before continuing to Apaukwa, Kyauktaw or Mrauk-U to receive medical treatment.

Because seeking medical care involves high costs, long travel times and hazardous journeys, residents are calling on the authorities to establish a hospital or healthcare clinic in the Yoe Creek area.

"When my daughter went into labour at night and was unable to give birth, we set out for the hospital. She ended up delivering the baby on the way near Taungmin Kalar Village. After the birth, we sought help from a nurse in Kansauk Village, but her condition worsened. When the baby developed convulsions, we had to continue to a clinic in Kyauktaw," Daw Hla Nu, a resident of Likwi Village, told DMG.

Flooding struck the Yoe Creek area last week. Daw Hla Nu said her daughter gave birth aboard a motorboat while travelling to Kyauktaw after going into labour during the journey.

Following complications, the mother and baby were taken to Kansauk Village before being transferred to Kyauktaw Township, where they are currently receiving treatment.

Daw Hla Nu, an ethnic Mro resident of Likwi Village in the upper reaches of the Yoe Creek area, said the lack of nearby healthcare facilities places residents at serious risk during medical emergencies.

She urged the authorities to establish a hospital or clinic in the area, which relies almost entirely on water transport.

"Even when there is no flooding, we face many healthcare difficulties. People in the same household can contract malaria three or four times. The village health worker has only basic medical knowledge, so we face many challenges," Ko Kyaw Aye, a resident of the Yoe Creek area, told DMG.

Residents said the upper reaches of the Yoe Creek area include more than 30 villages without a single hospital.

As a result, diseases such as malaria and influenza are common, creating serious difficulties for emergency patients.

Residents are appealing for a hospital or a fully functioning medical clinic to be established in either Kansauk or Thaluchaung villages.

"What we want to request from international organizations is support for the healthcare sector. Villages are facing severe medicine shortages. We urgently need essential medicines and hope they can assist us in any way possible," said U Tun Oo Chay, a local man.

Residents added that people die every year from malaria and influenza because they are unable to reach a hospital in time.

The Yoe Creek area is home to Arakanese, Mro and Khami communities, whose livelihoods depend mainly on farming, shifting cultivation, orchards and forest products.