22 A NATION LEFT BEHIND authorities provide these materials to them. Even though the camps are among the nearly 120 IDP sites accessible to the Myanmar authorities, it was the Kachin State COVID-19 Prevention Network, made up of 12 CSOs and volunteers, that sprayed disinfectant and distributed hand sanitizer there.74 Yet many IDPs live in areas outside of government control; in Kachin State, some 40 percent of displaced people are in 20 camps located in KIO-controlled territory. International aid providers have long been barred by the Myanmar government and the Myanmar military from assisting communities in those areas, leaving them without adequate humanitarian support for years preceding the current pandemic. Often it is only ethnic health organizations that have access to these areas, but they remain largely ignored by the government and systematically underprioritized by international aid organizations and therefore suffer from persistent funding shortages. In Karen State’s Mutraw District, approximately 1,700 villagers have been forced to live in a state of perpetual insecurity as Myanmar military troops have fired hundreds of rounds of artillery shells around their communities in recent months. They repeatedly have had to flee into the jungle due to these threats. Venturing out for food puts them at risk of violence and arrest, according to the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN). These living conditions make these communities “one of the most vulnerable sectors of the population” to COVID-19, KPSN said.75 In southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township, where there are nearly 5,000 IDPs, state authorities constructed just 150 huts in the first half of April to ease the overcrowding in the town of Samee, where more than 600 families are in need of shelter.76 In late March, doctors in Paletwa predicted an upcoming shortage of medical supplies, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to prevent and treat coronavirus among the town’s residents, let alone to support the IDP population’s health needs.77 Sittwe-based human rights activist Khaing Myo Tun told local media on 15 April that as the Myanmar military’s air strikes on Rakhine State have intensified, people are fleeing villages and staying in crowded monasteries, increasing their risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. “Even though the coronavirus pandemic is happening, ethnic people in Rakhine State are more afraid of the fighting because it’s something that can kill 74 Kachin News Group. “‘Not Enough Water to Wash Our Hands,’ Say Kachin IDPs Bracing for COVID-19.” 2 April 2020. Available at: https://kachinnews.com/2020/04/02/not-enough-water-to-wash-our-hands-say-kachin-idpsbracing-for-covid-19/ 75 Karen Peace Support Network. “COVID-19 response in Burma exposes glaring double standards.” 17 April 2020. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/KPSN.karen/photos/pcb.2635124270097831/2635114806765444/?type=3&theater 76 Khonumthung News. “Chin State Govt to Build 150 Huts in Town With Thousands of IDPs.” 8 April 2020. Available at: https://english.khonumthung.org/chin-state-govt-to-build-150-huts-in-town-with-thousands-of-idps/ 77 Khonumthung News. “Without Internet or Sufficient Medical Supplies, Fear of COVID-19 Reaching Paletwa Looms.” 31 March 2020. Available at: https://english.khonumthung.org/without-internet-or-sufficient-medical-supplies-fearof-covid-19-reaching-paletwa-looms/