Regional Director statement on the health crisis in Sudan

21 November 2023 – With the world’s attention having turned to the horrifying situation in Gaza, we must remember that the Sudanese people continue to face suffering on a scale that is also catastrophic. The figures coming out of Sudan are staggering: nearly 25 million people need humanitarian aid and 11 million people need urgent health assistance. More than 20 million people have now fallen into high levels of acute food insecurity, and every seventh child under five in Sudan is acutely malnourished. Around 4.2 million women, girls and vulnerable populations face the risk of gender-based violence – which can be life-threatening – with limited or no access to protection services and support. As fighting continues relentlessly across major parts of the country, especially in Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum, the latest official figures we received on 3 November point to 32 679 injured people – and with so many areas now extremely hard to access due to insecurity, the real numbers are likely to be much higher. An estimated 70% of hospitals in the conflict-affected states are not working, and the remaining ones are overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced. With children representing about half of the 6.3 million people forced to flee the violence, Sudan is now the country with the largest child displacement crisis in the world. We are gravely concerned Read more...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news