New York - Khartoum: Europe and the Arabs
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 due to the ongoing crisis in the country. According to the United Nations news bulletin, of which they received a copy on Wednesday morning
The UNHCR stated in a press statement issued on Tuesday 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 their homes arrive.
The UNHCR described the situation in Sudan as "dire", given that the needs far exceed the available resources.
She added that in White Nile state, shortages of essential medicines, staff and supplies have impeded the provision of health and nutrition services in all 10 refugee camps, as more than 144,000 new refugees have arrived from Khartoum since the outbreak of the conflict, joining thousands of South Sudanese refugees and local communities who are frequenting The same clinics. In addition, mental health services and psychosocial support are almost non-existent.
mortality among children
UNHCR noted high rates of malnutrition, disease outbreaks and related deaths due to lack of food or medicine, with many families continuing to be displaced for weeks.
She 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 funding life-saving health programs continues, it is This number is likely to rise.
The UN organization also said that a chronic shortage of health workers, as well as attacks on staff, recorded by the World Health Organization, has significantly affected the quality of health care across the country, as analysis by UNHCR teams in White Nile shows that There are at least 70 patients per doctor per day, which is higher than what is medically recommended and is clear evidence of the overstretched services.
She 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 due to floods caused by continued rains and inadequate hygiene facilities.
UNHCR described the situation across the border for those forced to flee their homes as "equally grim".
She said that the health and nutritional conditions of those coming from Sudan have deteriorated sharply since the outbreak of the conflict on April 15, adding that the problem of lack of funding severely impedes response efforts in southern Sudan, where 57 children, most of them under the age of five, died as a result of measles and malnutrition in Renk town. Of these, 15 children died last week alone.
UNHCR reports that more than 2,400 injured refugees and returnees have arrived in Chad, with only 17 mobile clinics operating in 15 border locations and refugee camps, requiring urgent medical care. Almost 130 injuries were treated daily in June, according to the UNHCR statement.
The need for more support
UNHCR confirmed that humanitarian agencies have deployed additional staff and volunteers to camps, border entry points and temporary centers to provide support in screening for malnutrition cases, among other services. UNHCR is also doing everything in its power to transfer new arrivals as quickly as possible from border entry points and temporary centers to avoid overcrowding and limit the spread of deadly diseases.
But she stressed that she "needs more donor support in order to save lives."
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 countries neighboring Sudan has been received. , while the inter-agency response within Sudan was only 24 percent funded.
flagrant violation
In turn, 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 today on the situation in Sudan, that health services are also affected in states that are not witnessing active fighting, due to a shortage 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. It must stop. Humanitarian workers need to guarantees of 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 healthcare sector in Sudan, and the occupation of health facilities including the National Public Health Laboratory, the National Fund for Medical Supplies of the Ministry of Health in Khartoum, and the Central Blood Bank.
She added that between April 15 and July 31, the World Health Organization verified 53 attacks on the healthcare sector, causing 11 deaths and 38 injuries.
And the organization called for the necessity to protect "the safety and sanctity of health care" at all times, especially in cases of lethal violence when the work of the authorities becomes Effective healthcare and safe access to life-saving services is even more important.
  Since the outbreak of 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.