BANGKOK, Dec 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Women and girls uprooted by fighting in Myanmar risk sexual violence and lack access to reproductive healthcare, said the U.N. Population Fund, which next month launches a health project for women and girls in conflict-hit areas.
Communal violence in Rakhine state in the west and fighting between government troops and ethnic rebels in Kachin and Shan states in the north have caused massive displacement in Myanmar, where as many as 645,000 people are displaced, the highest number in Southeast Asia.
"While on the run or while living in shelters, (women) often lack access to basic sexual and reproductive health support," the UNFPA said in a statement. "Without assistance by midwives or provision of contraceptives, women and girls are at increased risk of unsafe sex, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe delivery."
The UNFPA's $11.8 million, three-year programme will provide healthcare for expectant and new mothers and emergency care for women who have suffered violence, such as post-rape treatment and counselling, in Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan states.
In Rakhine, ethnic Rohingya Muslims face persecution and live in apartheid-like conditions, confined to camps and townships with restrictions on movement and deprivation of food and medical care.
"Imagine women there who want to deliver a baby, and they don't have means of transport, or they do not have proper documents to move within their areas: These are factors that contribute to maternal death," said Stenly Sajow, humanitarian affairs specialist for UNFPA. (Courtesy of trust.org)
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