Minister of Security and Border Affairs re-authorized to transport medicine in Rakhine , but still facing many difficulties

NarinjaraNews, January 14, 2023

It is reported that the permission to import medicines from the mainland to Rakhine State has been restored with the permission of the Minister of Security and Border Affairs for Rakhine State.

In the past, the Military Council had strictly banned the importation of medicine into Rakhine, and months after the ceasefire, the Minister of Security and Border Affairs allowed the shipment, a pharmacy owner said.

"With the permission of the State Security Minister, we are not able to import medicines freely. It is not easy to get approval for every pharmacy. According to the situation in Myanmar, if you ask for permission, you will have to pay even lower level staff. It will be a little difficult if you don't have any acquaintances. If you know them, it will be easier," he said.

However, with this approval, the prices of medicine in Rakhine have dropped slightly, and the public has become 60-70 percent more comfortable buying medicine than before, he said.

"In the past, we could not travel by car, so we had to transport them by plane. Transporting by plane is expensive. Even if companies can afford the cost of transportation, they do not carry many items on the plane. Now, because we can get it by car, the price of some drugs has dropped a bit," he said.

With the permission of the Minister of Security and Border Affairs, it has been more than a week since getting permission to transport medicines from the mainland to Rakhine through roads. Currently, most pharmaceutical companies in Rakhine are reportedly trying to get permission from the Minister of Security and Border Affairs.

However, due to delays in obtaining a permit from the Minister of Security and Border Affairs, some medical companies are not transporting by road, but by air and other ways, said a medical company employee.

"There is a delay in submitting the letter with the permission of the State Security Minister, so It is transported by plane. Currently, there are some who have sent letters to the State Security Minister and have not received a reply. If you send it by plane, it is expensive. If you bring it by car, it's cheaper. But because it's a pharmacy, we can't run out of supplies, so we have to import them even though it's expensive," he said.

During the period when the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military were fighting fiercely, the Military Council strictly banned the supply of medicines to Rakhine State, causing a shortage of medicines in Rakhine State, causing the prices to skyrocket and causing special difficulties for the people.

With the State Security permit, there are still some difficulties in transporting medicines through the road, and some military checkpoints are demanding money from motorists and extorting money from motorists by delaying their time.

In Rakhine on November 26 last year, after a temporary cease-fire between the AA and the Military Council force, some roads and waterways where the people mainly travel have been reopened, but there are still restrictions on the transportation of rice, cement and building materials, and the import of medicines has only been officially allowed.