Saving lives: the critical situation in Khartoum which puts the health of the population at risk
The NGO Save the Children is sounding the alarm about the health situation in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. According to this humanitarian organization, thousands of decomposing corpses litter the streets of the city, while the morgues are overwhelmed and often without electricity.
This macabre reality has been denounced by the Sudanese doctors’ union, which indicates that of the 89 main hospitals in Khartoum and surrounding regions, 71 are out of service and the others are operating at reduced capacity. Some health facilities have even been occupied by armed groups, thus aggravating the situation.
Dr Bashir Kamal Eldin Hamid, director of Save the Children’s health and nutrition programme, expresses his concern: “The accumulation of bodies in hospitals and on the streets of Khartoum poses a threat to the lives of Sudanese who have remained in the The lack of morgues and their insufficient capacity to accommodate more bodies are difficulties in addition to the frequent power cuts, rendering the already overloaded morgues ineffective.”
The situation is all the more alarming with the high temperatures in the region, which accelerate the process of decomposition of bodies left in the streets. In addition, many corpses remain inaccessible in the neighborhoods affected by the clashes, making it impossible to accurately count the deaths.
The international community must be aware of this situation and act to avoid an imminent health catastrophe. With the approach of the rainy season and floods in Sudan, the country is exposed to serious epidemic risks, such as cholera and other diseases. Save the Children points out that since the start of the conflict, at least 2,435 children have been killed or injured.
It is therefore urgent for the international community to mobilize and provide support to Sudan to deal with this health crisis. The urgency is to put in place measures for the treatment of bodies and provide the medical resources necessary to prevent the spread of disease