“The magnitude of the emergency is shocking, as is the inadequacy of the measures being taken to stop the conflict,” said the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters from the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on Sunday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the conflict has so far killed more than 20,000 people – though the number is likely to be higher – and triggered the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, moving more than 10 million people within the country and forcing another 2 million to flee to neighbouring countries.
The crisis falls on deaf ears
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
After 500 days of fighting, in addition to the growing death toll and internally displaced people, catastrophic seasonal flooding has further damaged essential infrastructure.
In addition, outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and malaria are increasing, numerous cases of conflict-related sexual violence have been reported, and famine is occurring in some parts of the country.
Concluding his two-day visit, Dr Tedros said: “25.6 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population – are expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity.”
He also noted that between 70% and 80% of the country’s health facilities are not fully operational.
Despite these statistics and the WHO sounding the alarm since the conflict began (while working with its partners to address some of the challenges), “the international community seems to have forgotten about Sudan and is paying little attention to the conflict that is tearing it apart, with repercussions across the region,” Tedros said.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives a press conference in Port Sudan. On the right, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Hanan Balkhy.
The best medicine is peace
“The conflict has left some 25 million people… in dire need of humanitarian aid. Of these, 14.7 million require urgent assistance for a range of life-saving relief items, for which the humanitarian sector has appealed for $2.7 billion, which is less than half funded.”
The WHO chief called for a series of actions that could save millions of lives: protection of health facilities, health workers and patients – health should not be an objective; sustained access to deliver supplies and aid; expansion of disease surveillance and vaccination coverage; and “a massive increase in funding by the international community to scale up the response.”
“We call on the world to wake up and help Sudan to emerge from the nightmare it is living,” the UN health chief said, adding that an immediate ceasefire was needed to lead to a lasting political solution.
“The best medicine is peace,” he concluded.
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