Doha (UNA/QNA) – Sudan was hit last August by the largest floods in many years, which swept through large areas of the northern states and caused huge losses in lives and property. These floods exacerbated the poor conditions of tens of thousands of families and created a serious threat to millions of Sudanese due to the spread of “strange” infectious diseases in a number of states.
This disaster comes amid a near-total collapse of the health sector, which is suffering from the repercussions of the ongoing war that has exceeded 500 days since its beginning on April 15 of last year.
Floods and torrents resulting from heavy rains in Sudan have led to the spread of many diseases and epidemics, including cholera, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health. They have destroyed a number of health facilities and cut off the roads leading to them, affecting the safety of medical personnel and reducing their ability to reach patients in the affected areas, forcing many of them to use dangerous roads to reach the injured.
In a statement, the Sudanese Ministry of Health confirmed that the number of cholera cases exceeded 6600, while the number of deaths reached 235. The ministry also reported that more than 54 families were affected by the torrents and floods that swept through 11 states in the country. It expressed its deep concern about the ability of the health system to deal with the outbreak of epidemics during the rainy season, in light of the disruption of 80 percent of health facilities due to the ongoing armed conflict between the parties to the conflict.
In light of these serious challenges, UN humanitarian workers have warned that heavy rains and floods have affected nearly half a million people in Sudan in the states of South Darfur, the Red Sea, the River Nile and the Northern State, in addition to North Darfur State, which is one of the most affected states, since late June, the beginning of the autumn season in Sudan.
About 124 people in areas at risk of famine, including in the capital of North Darfur, El Fasher, have been affected by heavy rains, said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations.
In this context, last week, relief organizations delivered life-saving therapeutic food to 6,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition in the city of Nyala in South Darfur State. Partners also distributed relief supplies to tens of thousands of people in the Northern State.
Dujarric noted that some 2900 suspected cases of cholera have been reported since the latest outbreak in mid-August... stressing that severe flooding is exacerbating the already deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, and that flooding and stagnant water also increase the risk of disease spread.
In turn, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate warned that medical and health cadres working in war zones face many dangers surrounding them from all sides. While doctors and health cadres in the health sector have been working since the outbreak of fighting, under extremely dangerous security conditions that have led to the deaths of dozens of them, the recent floods and torrents, in addition to the spread of infectious diseases, have increased the health challenges in the country.
For more than 500 days, Sudan has suffered from the ravages of the ongoing conflict, which has cast a heavy shadow over various aspects of life in the country. As the humanitarian crisis escalated due to the armed conflict, floods and torrential rains last August increased the suffering of millions of Sudanese.
In a move to address the damage caused by torrents and floods in the states of Gedaref, the Red Sea and the North, three shipments of urgent aid arrived at Port Sudan Airport to support and relieve families affected by torrents, rains and floods in Sudan, with funding from the Qatar Development Fund, and in coordination with Qatar Charity and the Qatar Red Crescent.
Mishaal Nasser Al-Hajri, Head of Monitoring and Urgent Response Department at Qatar Charity, which is coordinating and implementing aid to affected families on the ground with the Qatar Red Crescent, said that this aid comes within the framework of efforts to provide relief to the Sudanese people as a result of the floods and rains that hit the Northern and River Nile states, stressing that aid will continue until this disaster ends.
In the context of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stated after returning from a field visit to Sudan that the health situation in the country is “distressing.” In a post on the /X/ platform, he expressed his deep sadness over the current crisis, noting that displacement in Sudan constitutes “the largest displacement problem in the world,” with the number of displaced people exceeding ten million people, in addition to more than two million refugees in neighboring countries.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization stressed the need for the international community to be fully aware of the scale of the disaster that has befallen Sudan, especially in light of the critical conditions that the health sector is going through. He explained that the organization provided 92 tons of medical aid five days after the opening of the Adre border crossing with Chad, stressing the importance of providing humanitarian aid through all border crossings and airports designated by the Sudanese government, including Port Sudan, the West and the South.
In light of the current humanitarian and health crisis that Sudan is suffering from, the crisis requires a coordinated and rapid international response in order to provide the necessary assistance, alleviate the suffering of those affected, and support the health system that has been severely damaged.
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