Humanitarian crisis in Sudan ‘worsening’ as it faces ‘world’s largest displacement crisis’: WHO

GENEVA (AA) – The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is “worsening” as it faces the “world’s largest displacement crisis,” the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the country has said.

In the past eight months, the fighting has spread from Khartoum to several states across the country, Mohammad Taufiq Mashal told a UN press briefing in Geneva via video link.

Mashal, citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, and Health Ministry, said that at least 12,260 people have been killed since April and over 33,000 people injured in the conflict in Sudan.

“But many more people lost their lives due to the disruption of the health system and the lack of access to urgent surgery, medicines for heart diseases, hypertension, cancer, diabetes and dialysis services, lack of access to maternal and child health care, lack of treatment for severe acute malnutrition or due to disease outbreaks,” he stressed.

Regarding the number of displacements caused by the fighting, he said: “Sudan is facing the world’s largest displacement crisis.”

One in every 15 Sudanese is now displaced, he underscored, bringing the total number of people who have fled their homes seeking safety within Sudan or in neighboring countries to nearly 6.8 million.

These displacements are “increasing their vulnerability to diseases, malnutrition, gender-based violence and acute mental health distress,” he warned and said that disease outbreaks are “worsening and spreading.”

According to the representative, cholera has spread from three to nine states within a month and 5,400 suspected and confirmed cases and 170 deaths have been reported.

Also, 11 states reported over 4,500 cases of suspected measles cases and 104 deaths, he said and added that 6,000 cases of dengue and 56 related-deaths occurred in 14 states.

Insecurity and bureaucratic hurdles continue to limit humanitarian access and movement of supplies in many places in Sudan, while many hospitals are reportedly inaccessible, and insecurity prevents humanitarian aid from being safely delivered, he said.