Rescue operations have not yet reached many disease-affected villages in the Naga Self-Administered Zone as of August 17, though the Council of Naga Affairs (CNA) has met with Vice President Henry Van Thio twice—once in Yangon on August 14 and once again in Nay Pyi Taw on August 16, reports Myanmar Eleven.
Ke Jung, the information officer of the CNA, said: “The vice president confirmed that seven tonnes of food and Ks 50 million have been sent to allow for immediate rescue operations when we met yesterday evening. He said he has to report other details of the process to the President’s Office and the State Counsellor’s Office.”
Food and rescue funds sent by the government reached Hkamti Township but not to Lahe Township because of bad weather in the area. The Naga leaders still expect rescue materials from the government to reach Lahe, though some of the provisions may expire before they reach the disease-affected villages.
“We suggested to the vice president that the rescue team should wait in Hkamti until the weather is good and to send the materials onward then. I suggested to him that even if a helicopter cannot go to Lahe, it can deliver the goods to Thakyan, which is close to Lahe,” Ke Jung told the Myanmar Eleven.
Naga residents have urged the regional and central governments to take responsibility for the deaths in the Naga SAZ, which are thought to have been caused measles.
Naw Aung Sann, the general secretary of the CNA, said at a press conference on August 16 at the Orchid Hotel in Yangon that he was not pleased with the authorities’ performance in its emergency response. He said the government has not conducted rescue operations in a way that is commensurate to the magnitude of the emergency.
He continued: “I would like to ask to the government who is responsible for this situation—the authorities of the Naga Self-Administered Zone? The Sagaing Region government? Or the central government? We face such a tragedy today since the government did not do what it should have done in the past. They cited difficulties in communication and transportation as excuses for their lack of an effective response. But who can improve the system? Only the government can offer an effective response.”
The mysterious disease outbreak started on June 6, when Pang Long, 90, died in Htankawnautkone Village in the Naga Self-Administered Zone. No one in the village knew the cause of his death until five more people in the village died that month. The villagers informed to the governing council of the Naga Self-Administered Zone of the situation on July 9.
The disease has killed 42 people, including 13 male and 15 female of children in Lahe Township and eight female and six male of children in Donhee Township. Three children in Htankawlarma Village are facing life-threatening conditions now.
Naw Aung Sann said: “If our lives continue to be sacrificed because of bad roads and transportation, what benefit do we have from being citizens of this country? We doubt Myanmar’s commitment to human rights as we witness the events in Naga today.”
The Naga Self-Administered Zone, located in the northwestern edge of Myanmar, is the least developed area in the country. A lack of infrastructure and a poor transportation system are the root causes of several complicating factors in Naga, including malnutrition, starvation and low levels of health knowledge. These conditions also contributed to the severity of the ongoing measles outbreak.
According to the CNA, people die from malnutrition in the Naga SAZ every year. Obvious starvation hit the area in 1970, 1979, 1980 and 1981. Serious starvation hit the area in 1997 and 1998, killing many people.
Naw Aung Sann said: “Language misunderstanding is another barrier to an effective remedy since approximately ten sub-tribes live in the Naga area of Myanmar. Villagers use walky-talkies to communicate between villages. Messages must be translated, which leads to misunderstanding and inaccurate information about the disease.”
Naga SAZ has a population of 8,981. The current wave of infectious disease has killed people in nine villages, while people in another 15 villages are suffering from the disease. Little or no information has been released on another six villages in the zone.