Fuel shortages and rising prices in Tanintharyi Region are causing difficulties in carrying out relief and support operations for internally displaced people.
According to one aid group, the number of IDPs are increasing in the Tanintharyi Region. Most are sheltering in hard-to-reach forested and mountainous areas, requiring food and medical supplies to be procured in towns and delivered to them.
Due to current fuel shortages and rising prices, relief operations cannot easily continue without fuel.
“As the number of displaced people keeps rising, we have to continue helping them. However, since they are in areas without the internet, we must visit them in person. Now, with fuel prices rising and shortages, it has become very difficult to reach them,” an official from Dawna Tenasserim IDPs Supply Force said.
Fuel shortages are delaying transportation, causing food and medical supplies to not reach some areas.
This situation is making life more difficult for displaced people and affecting their access to food and essential medical care.
Rising prices mean less food can be bought than before, and some displaced people are having to eat less.
“Before, fuel cost about 18,000 kyats per gallon, but now it’s over 40,000. Even if we have money, we can’t buy as much as we need. With rising prices and transport difficulties, it’s very hard to carry out our work. So, we can’t provide as much as planned, and people have to share what they have,” the official added.
Fuel shortages and rising prices are making daily life more difficult for displaced people.
Therefore, more humanitarian aid is needed for displaced people, and cooperation among aid groups is becoming increasingly important, he said.
As of February, nearly 90,000 people were displaced in Tanintharyi Region, and they have still not been able to return home as of the end of March.
