The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is escalating day by day due to the war that has been raging for approximately two months. The battle between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries. The impact on healthcare is catastrophic.
Shortly after the announcement of the death of six newborns in East Darfur, a report from the medical committee of the Justice and Equality Movement in the city of Genaina, the capital of West Darfur, revealed a heartrending situation created by the war. The report confirmed the death of all kidney dialysis patients in Genaina due to the absence of operational hospitals and health centers, as well as a shortage of oxygen cylinders and blood supplies.
The report highlighted that the city is besieged from all sides, threatened by a lack of water following electricity cuts, and hampered by non-functional telecommunication lines, making the delivery of medical or food aid impossible. It also emphasized that the presence of snipers within residential neighborhoods has severely hindered the movements of medical teams, which have resorted to setting up makeshift hospitals in homes.
In East Darfur, the Minister of Health, Alshafi’ Barrar, reported the death of six newborns at Aldaien hospital due to a lack of supplies. Sudanese media quoted Barrar stating, “A shortage in supplies caused the death of six newborns at Aldaien hospital.” He also expressed concern about the lack of medicines, solutions, laboratory equipment, blood banks, and dialysis consumables, along with a scarcity of other medical supplies and the absence of working ambulances at the hospital.
The medical staff at Aldaien hospital in East Darfur have entered their third week of strike, protesting non-payment of wages. The Preliminary Committee of the Doctors’ Syndicate reported that 66% of hospitals adjacent to conflict zones have ceased to function due to bombings, forced evacuations, and a lack of medical supplies.
Amidst this, Florence Marshal, the official spokesperson for the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), stated, “The United Nations is closely monitoring the situation and tracking violations in Sudan.” Marshal told the Arab World News Agency that the United Nations is not directly involved in ongoing negotiations in Jeddah between the conflicting parties in Sudan, which are being led by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
UNITAMS officials have been documenting dozens of incidents, including murders, arrests, possible enforced disappearances, attacks on hospitals, sexual violence, and other severe violations against children committed by the warring parties. Marshal added that UNITAMS continues to monitor human rights violations in Sudan as part of its mandate and reports on them.
Last Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations mission in Sudan for a further six months. Fighting between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces broke out in mid-April, just as military and civilian factions were finalizing an internationally backed political process.
