Access to healthcare in Sudan remains severely restricted due to insecurity: WHO

GENEVA: Access to health care in Sudan remains severely restricted due to insecurity, attacks on health care, shortages of medicines, medical supplies, health workers and cash to cover the operating costs of health facilities, Dr. Margaret Harris, Spokesperson, World Health Organisation (WHO) said at a press conference in Geneva on Friday. She added that people are dying from lack of access to basic and necessary health care, especially with the suspension of between 70-80 percent of hospitals in conflict hotspots. According to a report by the Khartoum State Ministry of Health, only 25 percent of hospitals and 16 percent of primary healthcare centres are functioning in the state. Harris reported that many areas of the country remain largely inaccessible to humanitarian actors and noted that reports of cholera, measles, malaria, dengue fever and meningitis have been received from several states as of 16 September, with 5491 suspected cases of measles and 120 associated deaths reported from 11 states. Moreove r, 9484 suspected cases of dengue fever with 75 associated deaths were reported from 12 states, while the number of malaria cases reached 1.8 million clinical cases and 178 deaths from 15 states. Source: Emirates News Agency