Sudan’s healthcare system is at risk, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which issued a warning on Tuesday after it became almost impossible to deliver humanitarian activities in and around Khartoum.
“The truth is that at the moment it is almost impossible to provide any humanitarian services in and around Khartoum,” Farid Aiywar, the IFRC team’s head in Sudan, told reporters in Nairobi via video link.
Many organizations and people who are stranded in the region have requested to be rescued. According to Aiywar, if flaws in Sudan’s healthcare system are not addressed quickly, “it will almost collapse.”
The international community has called for an end to the confrontation between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has resulted in at least 185 deaths and over 1,800 injuries.
In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said, “Common sense must prevail, and all parties must act to de-escalate tensions.”
The United Nations spokesperson, Alessandra Vellucci, refused to comment on the staffers’ departure, citing security concerns, but reiterated the organization’s commitment to Sudan.
“We fully intend to remain and carry out our humanitarian mandate,” she said.
According to Vellucci, the UN employs 4,000 people in Sudan, the majority of whom are engaged in humanitarian activities and accompanying political missions. Activities at the United Nations World Food Programme have been temporarily halted due to a terrible loss of life.
In a second statement, the World Health Organization said that three attacks on medical facilities had occurred since the outbreak of unrest in Sudan, with at least three fatalities linked to one of them.
Attacks against healthcare institutions, according to WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris, are a blatant violation of humanitarian law and the right to health and must stop immediately.
According to Harris, hospitals in Khartoum have a serious shortage of lifesaving supplies, and blackouts render even the most basic surgeries hard to conduct.
She expressed regret that “it’s so difficult for staff to actually get to the hospitals” because “it’s so dangerous for anybody to move anywhere.
