GENEVA: Sudan’s health sector faces “disaster” as heavy fighting rocks the country, warns the World Health Organization (WHO). Even before the recent deadly conflict began on April 15, Sudan’s healthcare system was already fragile, with hospitals facing numerous crises and shortages in medical staff.
The ongoing battles between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have resulted in more than 500 deaths and nearly 5,000 injuries. Only 16% of Khartoum’s hospitals are fully functional, with a shortage of medical staff, particularly in surgery and anaesthesia.
The situation is dire for the most vulnerable populations, including four million pregnant or sick women and nearly 50,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition who are no longer receiving vital care.
There are also three million women and girls who are exposed to gender-based violence, including sexual violence, and children who are facing psychological pressures from the conflict and displacement. Malaria is endemic in Sudan, and there is a growing threat of cholera and other diseases as clean water becomes scarce.
Sudan’s health system in dire need of international aid
The healthcare system is in need of hundreds of millions of dollars to address the crisis, which both predated and resulted from the current conflict, according to the WHO regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari. Last year, the UN estimated that one in three Sudanese needed to walk over an hour to receive medical care, with less than 30% of vital medicines available.
The ongoing violence has resulted in the evacuation of much-needed medical personnel from Sudan, with doctors opting to flee alongside tens of thousands of other Sudanese seeking safer shores. The WHO official lamented the departure of medical personnel from Sudan, saying the deadly fighting is worsening a “real brain drain.”
The UN had suspended its work in Sudan following five aid workers were killed in the conflict, and Doctors Without Borders was forced to stop almost all its operations in West Darfur, a region scarred by a war that began in 2003 and left around 300,000 dead.
The WHO warns of the growing threat of cholera, malaria, and other diseases, which could spread rapidly as clean water becomes increasingly scarce in the coming weeks. The humanitarian tragedy is likely to worsen in a country where more than one-third of the population is already in need of aid to stave off famine.
This year, the United Nations was hoping to raise about $1.7 billion to support Sudan, but only about 13% of that sum was secured. International law requires everyone to spare health facilities and to protect the lives of medical staff and patients, especially women and children, in times of war, Mandhari said.
