The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the crisis in Sudan could worsen in the coming months as the distribution of humanitarian aid and medical supplies remains restricted.
Sudanese refugees gather as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams assist the war-wounded from West Darfur, Sudan, in Adre hospital, Chad, June 16, 2023 in this handout image. Courtesy of Mohammad Ghannam/MSF/Handout via Reuters/File Photo
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the crisis in Sudan could worsen in the coming months as the distribution of humanitarian aid and medical supplies remains restricted.
War erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), devastating the country's infrastructure, prompting warnings of famine and displacing millions of people inside and outside the country.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, although death toll estimates are highly uncertain, and both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.
"Time is running out. Without a stop to the fighting and unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian aid, Sudan's crisis will dramatically worsen in the months to come and could impact the whole region," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.
"We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, and the situation could be much more dire."
Lindmeier said 15 million people were in need of urgent health assistance and that diseases such as cholera, malaria and dengue were spreading.
He said medical supplies in the country were estimated at about 25% of the needs, and 70 to 80% of Sudanese health facilities were not functioning due to the conflict.
"Some states, such as Darfur, have not received medical supplies for the past year," Lindmeier said.
Outbreaks of disease are increasing as public health services, including vaccinations, are disrupted, he said.
Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
Human Rights Watch has accused an Abu Dhabi-based security company of recruiting Colombian private military contractors and deploying them to fight alongside Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) between 2024 and 2025, adding to what the rights group describes as a growing body of evidence of Emirati military support for the paramilitary group.
Farmers across Sudan say the hike in global fuel and fertilizer costs resulting from the Iran conflict will force them to cut back on planting this summer, restricting food production in a country where war has caused acute hunger.
At least nine people were killed and six others injured when a four-storey building collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Rabat, local authorities said on Thursday.
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