Internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in Lar Tein Village in western Pai Khun (Pekhon) Township are facing a critical healthcare crisis as seasonal flu and fevers spread during the monsoon season, compounded by a military regime blockade on medical supplies.

The displaced residents fled their homes in Baw Yan, Taung Hsa Long, and Myauk Hsa Long villages around September 2025 amid fierce fighting between regime troops and Karenni joint resistance forces. They have now been displaced for nearly 11 months.

As the monsoon season intensifies, both children and adults are falling ill with flu and fevers. However, obtaining essential medical treatment has become increasingly difficult due to the area’s remote, mountainous terrain and strict regime restrictions on the transport of basic goods, including medical supplies, an aid worker in his 30s told SHAN.

“Transport is difficult, making it very hard to get medicines. The medical supplies are completely inadequate for the health needs of the IDPs. Medics from the resistance forces do come to check on them, but they cannot provide complete assistance. With it being the rainy season, seasonal flu and fevers are widespread, affecting both children and adults,” the aid worker said.

While local resistance medics provide what care they can, the sheer number of displaced people has overwhelmed available resources, leaving many without adequate treatment and essential medicines.

The humanitarian situation has been further worsened by the regime’s restrictions on transporting medical supplies into the area, as well as roads leading to Lar Tein Village that have been damaged by heavy monsoon rains.

“We urgently need medicines, especially for flu and malaria. Beyond the difficult travel conditions, the military simply does not allow medical supplies to be transported to this side,” the aid worker added.

More than 600 IDPs from Baw Yan, Taung Hsa Long, and Myauk Hsa Long remain unable to return home and are enduring harsh monsoon conditions in temporary shelters.

Across western Pai Khun Township, continued fighting since September 2025 has displaced more than 6,000 people from nearly 10 villages, forcing them to shelter in surrounding forests and host communities with little or no access to humanitarian assistance.