All respondents reported that they are eating just two meals a day of low-quality rice. Occasionally they ate curry usually made only from leaves – no oil, fresh vegetables or sources of protein.98 In two of the locations, some families are occasionally limited to eating just one meal a day. When asked how this compared with their food consumption habits before the resumption of conflict in November 2023 and the aid and trade blockade, a respondent explained, “Before the war restarted, we could eat the three main food groups to provide us with energy, build our strength, and protect us. Now we are eating just to survive.”99 Rohingya in these villages reported that basic commodity prices are extremely high and there is limited availability at the two markets they have access to, with items sometimes selling out. Food is unaffordable for many Rohingya families, as they have no income sources. Movement restrictions imposed by the AA mean that they cannot fish, farm, go to mountain areas to cut firewood or forage for food. Rohingya need to pay for official permission from the AA to travel between villages and access the markets.100 Respondents in all the locations described shortages of clean drinking water. In some places, hand pumps were damaged during the conflict. In most places, Rohingya rely on pond water, which is very limited during the hot season. In one location, there is no water source at all, meaning that Rohingya must walk to the nearest village a mile away to collect water.101 Sanitation facilities at all locations are reported to be inadequate, with IDPs in particular lacking access to fly-proof latrines. Outbreaks of diarrhoea were reported at all the locations except one over the past three months. In one village, two children and one elderly person died during a recent outbreak.102 Due to the regime’s ban on importing medicines to Rakhine State, basic supplies like oral rehydration salts are scarce and unaffordable for most. All respondents reported that multiple children in every location are extremely thin and showing signs of marasmus. Although it was not possible to collect MUAC data to confirm this, given the macronutrient deficiencies indicated by the current food consumption at these nine locations, BROUK warns that SAM may already be prevalent among children in the areas surveyed and across Buthidaung township. Immediate humanitarian access, RUTF and food assistance is urgently needed to save lives. Maungdaw township BROUK conducted the same survey with Rohingya respondents in six villages in Maungdaw township, with a total population of over 4,000. On average, 12 percent were IDPs. Maungdaw township is less isolated than Buthidaung township. On the face of it, the availability of food is marginally better in the locations surveyed, because Rakhine traders travel to these villages to sell goods to Rohingya shopkeepers and some informal, small-scale cross-border trade with Bangladesh is also reported. However, the extremely high cost of commodities is a major barrier to accessibility. This is compounded by strict curfew and travel restrictions imposed by the AA, which limits access to markets, leaving villages dependent on traders visiting their locations. The AA also charges high levels of arbitrary taxation from Rohingya shopkeepers.103 98 BROUK reference ICJ11-PM2c-FS-BTD-1a-8. 99 BROUK reference ICJ11-PM2c-FS-BTD-1a. 100 These restrictions are described in more detail under in the section Other atrocity crimes & the Arakan Army’s failure to comply with the provisional measures. 101 BROUK reference ICJ11- PM2c-FS-BTD-2. 102 BROUK reference ICJ11- PM2c-FS-BTD-6. 103 BROUK references ICJ11-PM2c-FS-MDW-1a-5. 19