Geneva: The impending arrival of the rainy season in Sudan and neighbouring countries will further aggravate issues of access to healthcare by the affected populations, as well as the ability of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to provide humanitarian assistance, the World Health Organization warned today.
Ongoing challenges with access to and capacity of health facilities, interruptions in services such as immunization, as well as worsening food insecurity, have combined in recent months to further worsen the health and nutrition situation and increase the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases in Sudan.
In many hard-to-reach areas of the country, such as in Darfur and Kordofan states, the actual burden of infectious disease outbreaks is difficult to characterize due to the paucity of surveillance data resulting from access constraints and communication breakdowns.
These access and communication challenges also mean that the people currently in conflict-affected areas in Sudan have been cut off from any humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies. The Adre crossing, the main route from Chad into Darfur, has been closed since February 2024. The arrival of refugees from Sudan into neighbouring countries has placed a major burden on the already overstretched health systems in these countries. They are struggling to cope with the increased need for trauma, gender-based violence, and psychosocial and mental health care. At the same time, there are several, simultaneous outbreaks of infectious diseases affecting refugee camps.
In addition to the direct health effects of the conflict such as trauma, there has been extensive damage and disruption to the health system in Sudan, with millions in the country lacking access to healthcare, further exacerbating the already fragile health of many already vulnerable people.
WHO said that as a cluster lead agency, it is trying to ensure the functioning of the Health Cluster in Sudan. It mentioned that nearly 15 million people are estimated to need urgent lifesaving health care services in the country, for which health cluster partners are aiming to reach 4.9 million people, requiring US$ 178 million to do so, but which is only 26% funded as of June 13, 2024.
Given trends in food insecurity and malnutrition, the Sudan Famine Prevention Plan was launched in April 2024 targeting 7.6 million people for assistance, of whom 6.3 million are estimated to be facing emergency levels of food insecurity (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification or IPC 4). The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) system-wide scale-up was extended to June 30, 2024, to be able to implement famine prevention and response measures.
It may be mentioned that since the start of the conflict in April 2023, 10 million have been displaced internally—the largest number in the world—and 2 million into neighbouring countries including Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, and the Central African Republic. There is frequent re-displacement as lines of control continue to shift between the parties involved in the conflict.
WHO said urgent action is needed to contain an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.
