Health of Burma Tribes 'worst in World'

The tribes of eastern Burma are suffering some of the worst health conditions in the world as a result of persecution by the military junta, a report published today reveals.

Forced 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 Burma-based community group.

Infant mortality is five times higher than in neighbouring Thailand, and the number of children dying aged under five, 22%, is 10 times higher.

Around 12% of the population has the most dangerous form of incurable malaria at any one time and 15% of children have malnutrition. Among mothers, one in 12 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 off basic healthcare, according to Cynthia Maung, who led the investigation.

"Most people are dying from diseases like malaria, respiratory ailments and diarrhoea," Dr Maung told the Guardian. "It would not take much to improve the situation but the government has no interest in doing so."

Current conditions are probably worse than the report states, Dr Maung believes, because in the past six months the junta has launched a massive offensive in the region. "The stories we are hearing mean our statistics are almost certainly understating the severity of the situation," she said.

The military, which took power in 1962, has been trying for years to wipe out ethnic minorities' resistance to its rule in eastern Burma, 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.

Burma campaigners say the international community should intensify efforts to reach the displaced people. "The situation is as bad as in the poorest countries in Africa but these people are only getting a tiny fraction of the aid," Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign UK told the Guardian. "The UN and the international aid world need to be more creative in finding ways to reach these people."

Political pressure is slowly mounting. Burma's south-east Asian neighbours have for the first time publicly distanced themselves from the junta, saying they will not defend the generals' policies when the country is discussed at the UN security council for the first time, probably later this month.