The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating health conditions in Sudan, with the number of forcibly displaced people exceeding four million people due to the ongoing crisis in the country.
The UNHCR stated, in a press release, that these deteriorating conditions affect refugee camps, as well as at border entry points and temporary reception centers in neighboring countries, to which people forced to flee from their homes.
The Commission described the situation in Sudan as "dire", given that the needs far exceed the available resources, pointing to the high rates of malnutrition and disease outbreaks, and the increase in related deaths; Due to the lack of food or medicine, many families have been displaced for weeks.
It added that between May 15 and July 17, more than 300 deaths were reported, most of them among children under the age of five, due to measles and malnutrition, stressing that if the delay in financing life-saving health programs continues, it is likely to increase this number.
The UN organization also said: “The chronic shortage of health workers, as well as the attacks on staff, which were recorded by the World Health Organization, has greatly affected the quality of health care across the country.”
It added that the collapse of supply chains has led to the depletion of medicines and other supplies for hundreds of thousands of people who desperately need them, noting that more cases of cholera and malaria are expected to be recorded in the coming months; because of the floods caused by the continuous rains and insufficient hygiene facilities.”
UNHCR reported that more than 2,400 wounded refugees and returnees have arrived in Chad, where only 17 mobile clinics are operating in 15 border locations and refugee camps, which requires urgent medical care.
UNHCR said: More funding is urgently needed to support the provision of health care and other life-saving assistance, noting that only 29 percent of the $566 million requested by UNHCR and other partners for the Regional Refugee Response Plan to provide assistance in neighboring countries has been obtained for Sudan, while the inter-agency response within Sudan was only 24 per cent funded.”
For its part, the World Health Organization confirmed that with the conflict in Sudan entering its fourth month, insecurity and limited access to medicines, medical supplies, electricity and water pose a challenge to the provision of health care in states directly affected by the conflict.
The organization added, in an update it published, on Tuesday, on the situation in Sudan, that health services are also affected in states that do not witness active fighting, due to a lack of supplies with the influx of displaced people fleeing states where fighting is raging.
The organization condemned in the strongest terms the attack on MSF staff on 20 July in Khartoum while they were carrying out their life-saving duties, saying: “Attacks on health care are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the right to health must stop. Humanitarian workers need guarantees for their safety and security to continue providing a critical humanitarian and health response.
The World Health Organization also condemned in the strongest terms the increasing attacks on the health care sector in Sudan, and the control of health facilities, including the National Laboratory for Public Health, the National Fund for Medical Supplies of the Ministry of Health in Khartoum, and the Central Blood Bank.
It added that between April 15 and July 31, the World Health Organization verified 53 attacks on the health care sector. This caused 11 deaths and 38 injuries.
It is noteworthy that since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, more than 4 million people have been forced to flee within Sudan and to neighboring countries, including nearly 700,000 refugees and asylum seekers who have fled to neighboring countries, while 195,000 South Sudanese have been forced to return to their country.
In Sudan, more than 3 million people have been internally displaced, including more than 187,000 refugees who sought refuge in the country before the crisis began.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency