Team of Indian Doctors for Peace and Development visited relief camps in valley and hills of Manipur 

Ludhiana, September 6, 2023: A team of Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) led by Dr Arun Mitra, President along with Dr Shakeel Ur Rahman, General Secretary, Dr Ravindranath, Senior Vice President, Dr Shanthi, Secretary, Dr Rajani, Secretary visited relief camps in valley and hills of Manipur on 1st and 2nd September 2023 in both Meitei and Kuki areas to assess the health conditions in the relief camps. The team members had come from Punjab, Bihar, Tamilnadu and Telangana.  The team visited the relief camps in Khumanlankpak sports hostel in Imphal district and IIT relief camps under Sapormeina PHC in Kangpokpi District in hill areas. There are 334 relief camps in Manipur now with approximately 70000 inhabitants. The team of doctors met inmates and nodal officers of the relief camps, officials of health department, workers of Civil Society organisations and officers of district administration. 

Teams key observations are the following:
•    The nutritional requirements of the inmates of the camps are not being met with as they are being supplied only rice, daal and oil. There is no supply of vegetables, milk, eggs or meat. 
•    Due to overcrowding there is a danger of spread of Measles among the children; but no vaccination has been given in these four months which is mandatory in such camps. 
•    Hygiene of the camps is very poor; toilets are insufficient. 
•    There is acute shortage of medicines in both the areas for communicable and non-communicable diseases. There is no blood storage facility and operation theatre in the hill areas. 
•    Since there is total divide in the population belonging to Meitei in the valley and Kuki tribes in the hills. They cannot move from one place to other for medical aid. The main medical centres are in the valley. People of the Kuki tribes in the hills have to go to Kohima, Dimapur in other states which are 150 kms. For very serious illness they have to go to Guwahati 440 kms away. Earlier they would come to the valley for treatment. 
•    Schooling of the children is suffering. 
•    There is too much stress and anxiety in all the sections particularly the children who wakeup and start crying at night. This is likely to develop into serious mental health problems. 

The team recommends:
•    Robust referral systems from primary health centres to higher relief centres both within the Manipur State and neighbouring state should be put in place at the earliest. 
•    Fabricated Operation Theatres and Blood storage units should be started immediately.  
•    Internet services should be restored in all health facilities around relief camps so that tele-medicine services can be available to inmates of relief camps.  
•    A strong medicine and vaccine supply system should be made functional. 
•    Both central and state governments should implement the United Nations Humanitarian Commissioner for Relief (UNHCR) SPHERE standards on meeting the health needs of the displaced people sheltered in relief camps.
•    Immunisation against Measles and providing Vitamin A supplement to children should be undertaken immediately.
•    Supply of good nutritious food like green leafy vegetables, milk, eggs, meat, fish should be ensured for all categories of the inmates in the camps.
•    Fogging for mosquito control should be done in and around relief camps should immediately be undertaken.   
•    Psychological counselling of inmates with Post Trauma Stress Disorder should be regular feature at relief camps.

This information was given by the IDPD leaders at a press conference held here today.