The journey begins with the hills. Then comes the river.
In the remote Mro villages of Kurukpata union in Alikadam, Bandarban, a rugged hilly region near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, reaching a hospital means crossing muddy slopes, slippery bamboo bridges, the Matamuhuri River, and hours of steep walking paths that disappear into the rain.
Residents cross the Matamuhuri River, a routine passage for villages cut off by distance and rugged terrain. Photo: Orchid Chakma
For many families here, distance is not measured in kilometres, but in exhaustion.
When 13-year-old Kramum Mro developed fever and rashes across her body, her mother, Nganrao, stayed inside their bamboo home.
“How would we carry her?” she asked.
Rain hammered against the tin roof while Kramum lay beneath a mosquito net. Beside her, Nganrao crushed wild forest vines for their sap using a blackened metal bowl. The bitter mixture was one of the few treatments available.
The nearest functioning medical system remained hours away.
Mro families often rely on local remedies when formal healthcare remains out of reach. Photo: Orchid Chakma
As of May 4, the Alikadam Upazila Health Complex had recorded 133 suspected measles cases. Of the 107 admitted patients, four were transferred to Cox’s Bazar Medical College Hospital in critical condition.
At least five children died.
The outbreak spread across remote villages scattered through the hills — Maran Para, Langthoin Para, Ruitong Para, Langring, Yangring, Mendon, and Bidyamoni Para.
A Mro mother carries her child in Kurukpata union, where reaching formal medical care can take hours. Photo: Orchid Chakma
Some families managed to reach hospitals.
Many did not.
Women and children walk through a village in Alikadam as measles spreads across the hills. Photo: Orchid Chakma
Children developed fevers inside homes lit only by daylight and kerosene lamps. Mothers stayed awake through the night, cooling foreheads with wet cloths. Fathers carried children downhill through knee-deep mud before dawn.
Those who could not travel waited.
A Para bandh, a makeshift village gate hung with cloth and herbs that elders believe helps protect the community from illness. Photo: Orchid Chakma
At the entrances of several villages, strips of cloth and wild herbs hang from makeshift gates known as Para band. Elders believe the herbs help protect the village from illness. Nearby, families boiled roots and forest vines, relying on remedies passed down through generations.
A father holds his child as the outbreak leaves visible rashes across the child’s back. Photo: Orchid Chakma
For many families, travelling to the nearest health facility costs more than several days’ income. Although a paved road now stretches part of the way from Alikadam, public transport does not operate on the route. Beyond the river, many villages remain reachable only on foot.
Between April 25 and April 30 alone, 86 measles cases were recorded.
The outbreak moved faster than the hills could respond.
At emergency treatment camps, doctors worked with limited electricity and equipment while volunteers carried medicine and guided patients through remote routes.
A father holds his child as the outbreak leaves visible rashes across the child’s back. Photo: Orchid Chakma
One father stood silently in the rain with his young son pressed against his shoulder. The child’s back was covered in measles blisters.
By the time many patients reached treatment, dehydration and respiratory complications had already worsened.
A child receives a measles vaccine during the emergency immunisation campaign in Kurukpata union, Alikadam. Photo: Orchid Chakma
As the outbreak spread, Mro youth volunteers joined emergency response teams across the hills.
“We are helping transport patients from remote areas, ensuring medicine supplies, and responding quickly to bring critically ill patients to the hospital,” said Menthao Mro, a student at Jahangirnagar University.
Between April 25 and April 30, the Bangladesh Army vaccinated 641 children in Kurukpata union.
The campaign continued village by village.
At the temporary medical camp, children slept beside their parents beneath hanging tarpaulins. Some had begun to recover.
A child rests at a makeshift medical camp in Sindumukh Para, Alikadam. Photo: Orchid Chakma
Others remained too weak to stand.
Rain continued across the hills beyond the camp.
The measles vaccine costs less than a dollar.
But in these hills, the real cost is the journey.
Orchid Chakma is a journalist at The Daily Star.
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