Millions of people are trapped in combat zones and fleeing in displacement areas in the south, north and east. Sudan Tragic conditions in light of the frightening spread of fevers and watery diarrhea, and a severe shortage in hospitals, about 80 percent of which are out of service due to the ongoing fighting in the country since mid-April 2023.
catastrophic situation
She said Sudanese Doctors Syndicate The widespread spread of dengue fever threatens a catastrophic situation in light of the scarcity of medicines and intravenous solutions and their high prices, noting that emergency rooms are suffering from increased pressure due to the increase in the number of patients in general as well as the number of emergency cases.
The union revealed a tragic situation among medical staff, and explained, “In Bashayer Hospital, the largest and most important hospital in the South Belt area of Khartoum, more than 90 percent of its medical staff are suffering from dengue fever, and some of them are in intensive care receiving treatment, which necessitated the complete closure of a number of hospital departments, such as the blood bank, operations and work, and the emergency department has also been closed since last Tuesday.”
The union confirmed that the situation in other areas of the state Khartoum…such as the Al-Jereif West and Shambat areas and others, as well as in the rest of the states affected by rains and epidemics in general, the situation is not much different from the situation in the south of the belt, adding, “The situation is catastrophic in the full sense of the word, with an almost complete collapse of health services.”
The union warned that the health, food and humanitarian situation in Sudan requires the international community, the United Nations and its organizations to do their duty quickly, and requires health organizations such as the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and others to make more efforts.
New challenge
According to the Doctors Syndicate, fevers and cholera represent another challenge to the crisis in Sudan and to the dilapidated health system, which is already struggling with increasing rates of malnutrition among children, a high number of war wounded and regular cases of preventable diseases.
A union spokesman told Sky News Arabia that the government and international response is still very weak.
Health and environmental experts say the combination of severe flooding, poor living conditions and inadequate food and drinking water for millions of people, especially in crowded displacement camps, has created conditions ripe for disease to spread.
Difficulties and obstacles
Adel Mahmoud, a volunteer from the Al-Salama neighbourhood in the southern Khartoum area, told Sky News Arabia that people are dying daily by the dozens in various parts of the capital due to the widespread spread of fevers, cholera and many other diseases, amid a severe shortage of hospitals and doctors.
“Last week, we managed with great difficulty to get a donkey cart to take one of the residents to Bashayer Hospital, which is about 4 kilometers away from the neighborhood. But after we arrived at the hospital and narrowly escaped a bombing that targeted one of the areas while we were passing, we were surprised to find hundreds of patients lying in the hospital courtyard waiting for their turn. There were only two doctors and a limited number of nurses and medical staff working because most of the hospital workers were sick with dengue fever,” he added.
Mahmoud points out that after two hours of waiting, the patient they brought died, but he was not the only one. Two children who were waiting had died before him, despite the great efforts and attempts made by the limited number of medical staff.
Risks
The official announcement of the spread Cholera In 10 of the country’s 18 states, while most of the rest of the states are suffering from the spread of malaria, dengue fever and typhoid after heavy rains and floods that swept across large areas of the country, increased the presence of stagnant water that turned into a suitable environment for the reproduction of disease vectors and epidemics.
Diseases are spreading in Sudan amidst massive waves of displacement, a severe shortage of electricity and potable water, an almost complete lack of transportation and health services, and a widespread spread of disease vectors such as flies and mosquitoes.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has confirmed that millions of children are at risk of death due to epidemic diseases. The organization indicates that about 5 million children need urgent health care, including 700,000 children under the age of 5.
