The regime’s local administration in Shwebo Township ordered the temporary closure of all four private hospitals in the town on Nov. 8, abruptly cutting off primary private healthcare for residents and triggering a scramble among inpatients to secure treatment elsewhere.
Sources close to the state-run Shwebo General Hospital told DVB that local authorities issued the shutdown order citing low patient turnout at the government facility.
However, local media outlets reported that the crackdown was triggered by the death of a military official’s family member while undergoing medical treatment at one of the private clinics.
The abrupt suspension affects Maykha, Aung Myay, Shwe Sanpya, and Shwe Palaung private hospitals, forcing critically ill patients to relocate immediately.
“This sudden closure has led patients from these hospitals to move to Shwebo General Hospital or hospitals from Mandalay,” a Shwebo resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
Since the 2021 military coup, public confidence in regime-administered healthcare facilities across Sagaing has collapsed due to widespread strikes by medical personnel and security concerns.
A source close to Shwebo General Hospital confirmed that only two of the facility’s six inpatient wards remain operational due to severely diminished patient admissions.
By contrast, residents noted that the four private facilities—three of which (Maykha, Aung Myay, and Shwe Sanpya) have operated for over 12 years, alongside Shwe Palaung Hospital, which opened post-coup in 2021—have consistently handled the vast majority of the town’s medical cases.
Meanwhile, pro-military social media channels claimed the closures were punitive measures targeting doctors affiliated with the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)—medical professionals who went on strike to oppose the 2021 coup and have since provided clinical care through private institutions.
The shutdown in Shwebo—located 58 miles (93 km) northeast of the region’s capital Monywa and partially controlled by the National Unity Government (NUG)—mirrors a wider pattern of regime crackdowns on private healthcare across Sagaing, following the forced closure and sealing of prominent private hospitals in Kale Township last month.
