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Myanmar: junta blamed over tribes' poor health

John Aglionby

THE TRIBES of eastern Myanmar (Burma) have some of the worst health conditions in the world as a result of persecution by the junta, a report published on Thursday reveals.

Evictions, forced labour, destruction of crops, and constant fear of death mean the 500,000 members of the Karen, Karenni, and Mon tribes are probably more likely to die than people in Congo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, according to Chronic Emergency: Health and Human Rights in Eastern Burma, by the Back Pack Health Worker Team, a Myanmar-based group.

Infant mortality is five times higher than in neighbouring Thailand and the number of children dying aged under five, 22 per cent, is 10 times higher. Around 12 per cent of the population has the most dangerous form of incurable malaria at any one time and 15 per cent of children have malnutrition. One in 12 mothers is likely to die giving birth, claims the report, which is based on interviews with 2,000 families in an area populated by 150,000 people.

The vast majority of these people could easily survive with a modicum of basic healthcare, according to Cynthia Maung, who led the investigation. "Most people are dying from diseases like malaria, respiratory ailments and diarrhoea," she said. "It would not take much to improve the situation but the government has no interest in doing so."

The military has been trying for years to wipe out ethnic minorities' resistance to its rule in eastern Myanmar, but the Karen National Liberation Army and other armed groups continue to wage a determined, if rearguard, campaign. The only way aid reaches the displaced people is from across the Thai border because the army has blocked other routes.

"The situation is as bad as in the poorest countries in Africa but these people are only getting a tiny fraction of the aid," said Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign U.K. "The UN and the international aid world need to be more creative in finding ways to reach these people." —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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