UNHCR, WHO says 1,200 children died in Sudan after healthcare system collapse

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 20th Sept.  UN refugee agency and WHO on Tuesday said that over 1,200 children in Sudan under the age of 5 have died in camps from a combination of measles and malnutrition.

According to UNHCR and the WHO, the children were refugees living in nine camps in Sudan’s White Nile state.

The refugee agency said that over 3,100 suspected measles cases and over 500 suspected cholera cases were reported in the same period in the country, along with outbreaks of dengue and malaria.

UNHCR’s Chief of Public Health, Dr. Allen Maina said “The situation has brought healthcare in the country to its knees, despite heroic efforts of local clinics and aid agencies to continue to provide much-needed health services.”

UNICEF warned that “many thousands of newborns” may die in Sudan by the end of the year due to the lack of access to treatment.

The 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan launched in May for Sudan remains only 30 per cent funded.

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi insisted that the world had “the means and the money” to prevent every one of those deaths.

He called for an end to the fighting and for more financial support for the emergency response in the country.

The UN agency pointed to a context of “increased epidemic risk” and challenges for epidemic control.

According to the WHO some 11 million people in Sudan require health assistance.

WHO team leader Dr Ilham Nour, said that 3.4 million children under five were acutely malnourished and millions of people required care for chronic diseases, including 8,500 patients in need of renal dialysis.

Dr Nour said that the latest reports indicate that up to 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected states are not functional.

WHO has verified 56 attacks targeted health facilities, health assets, transport, health workers and patients, in violation of international humanitarian law.

UNICEF prompted an alert that “many thousands of newborns” will die in Sudan by the end of the year due to the lack of access to treatment and “relentless” attacks on health and nutrition services..

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder highlighted the care needs for the 333,000 children who will be born in Sudan between October and December and their mothers.

He said that Sudan’s youngest citizens may be entering “a period of unprecedented mortality” and warned that there were more and more reports of children being recruited into armed groups.

Mr. Elder described the education crisis as 12 million Sudanese children waiting for schools to reopen.

He paid tribute to the courage and resilience of Sudan’s frontline public service workers and said that nurses, doctors, teachers, social workers have not received a salary in months, while inflation in the country ran rampant.

“And yet they turn up to work,” he said, adding that their character and dedication “cannot restock supplies or repair blown up hospitals”.