Foreign Medicine Shortages Leave Residents Struggling Across Myanmar Cities
Residents in major Myanmar cities under military control, including Yangon, are facing severe difficulties due to a critical shortage of imported medicines, according to local pharmacy owners.
The scarcity is affecting not only treatments for common illnesses but also widely used multivitamins. “Buying even a basic supplement like Enervon-C now feels like bidding at an auction,” said a female pharmacy owner in Yangon’s Lanmadaw Township. “We have to rely on Viber groups to track which shops still have stock and then resell them at a small markup. New imports are completely blocked.”
The situation is becoming life-threatening for patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease and hypertension who require daily medication. One Yangon resident shared her struggle: “My mother cannot miss her doses. Every time I get paid, I check every pharmacy I see. If I find the medicine and the expiry date is fine, I buy it regardless of the price. Some days, I have to check ten different shops just to find a single pack.”
Pharmacy owners attribute the crisis to extreme difficulties in obtaining import licenses and the closure of land trade routes. Even major wholesale hubs like Mingalar Market have reportedly run out of most essential supplies, leaving many shops with only locally produced alternatives.
To cope, some families are asking travelers from abroad to bring in necessary medications. However, this has led to further reports of extortion and seizures by authorities at airport checkpoints.
Highlighting the grim irony of the situation, a local Citizen Journalist from CJ Platform noted: “It’s a bitter joke here that while you can easily find ‘K’ (Ketamine) at KTVs, even an emergency contraceptive pill is now hard to find at a pharmacy.”
Note: This news has been translated and presented using AI.