Sudan health minister declares cholera epidemic & appeals for "immediate" & "urgent" international aid

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Shortly after fighting erupted in Sudan 15 April 2023, the Sudanese authorities dismissed the UN from Sudan and refused visas for most journalists. News of the humanitarian crises mainly comes from aid agencies in Sudan such as UNHCR, UNICEF, MSF, NRC.

They know when to expect rainy seasons in Sudan. Now, suddenly, after weeks of torrential rain, 10 hours daily in some areas, floods have destroyed flimsy shelters and subjected civilians of all ages to malaria, cholera and waterborne diseases while being cut off from food, water, medicines and medical help, Sudan's Health Minister Haitham Ibrahim pops up in the media today (Aug 18) to appeal for "immediate" and "urgent" international aid, knowing that many roads are impassable or too dangerous to use.

What has he been working on in the past year? Is he still getting paid? If so, what for? He knows villagers in RSF controlled areas can't survive without protection, food, water purification, medical help, medicines for cholera, malaria, waterborne diseases etc. Allegedly, many villagers are drinking from the Nile River. Here is a simple guide to drinking water from the Nile: 

• Can you drink from the Nile? The River Nile is the primary source of freshwater for drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes in Egypt. However, it is not recommended to drink water directly from the Nile due to pollution and contamination. 

• Is the Nile river water drinkable? No, the water from the Nile River is not safe for drinking. It is heavily polluted with sewage, poisonous chemicals, fertiliser residues, radioactive waste, and oil pollution. 

Also, here are excerpts from a below mentioned report published today titled 'Sudan health minister declares cholera epidemic':

• Sudan's health minister Haitham Ibrahim yesterday declared a cholera epidemic after weeks of heavy rain in the country, in a video released by his ministry.

• "We are declaring a cholera epidemic because of the weather conditions and because drinking water has been contaminated," Haitham Ibrahim said in the video.

• He said the decision was taken in conjunction with authorities in the eastern state of Kassala, United Nations agencies and experts after the "discovery by the public health laboratory of the cholera virus".

• Famine has been declared in a displacement camp in the vast western region of Darfur.

• For weeks the country has seen torrential rainfall, with Kassala state badly hit. The authorities there have appealed for "immediate" and "urgent" international aid. Read more.

From Medicalxpress online 

Written by AFP (Agence France-Presse)

Dated Sunday, 18 August 2024

Sudan health minister declares cholera epidemic

Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae. Credit: Wikipedia

Full story: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-sudan-health-minister-declares-cholera.html

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Related reports

From UN International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)

Dated Saturday, 17 August 2024. Full copy:

 

Natural Disaster Displacement Summary: Floods (Update 002):

Map: Estimated Individuals Displaced by Floods Per State, 

01 June - 12 August 2024

The Natural Disaster Displacement Summary compiles DTM updates on incidents of flood-induced displacement across Sudan. 

Between 01 June and 12 August 2024, DTM Sudan reported 60 incidents of heavy rains and floods that triggered sudden displacement in Sudan. Rains and floods have displaced an estimated 117,835 individuals (23,567 households) from locations across 12 different states in Sudan. 

This report outlines incidents of flood-induced displacement between 6 and 12 August 2024. For information on earlier reported incidents, see Natural Disaster Displacement Summary (Update 001). 

• DTM observed 31 incidents of flood-induced displacement  between 6 and 12 August 2024.  
• These reported incidents triggered the displacement of an estimated 96,465 individuals (19,293 households).  
• Approximately 32,611 structures were either partially damaged or destroyed by the rain and floods. 

Note: All figures should be understood as preliminary estimates, pending further verification. DTM Sudan will continue to provide updates on flood-induced displacement via Early Warning Flash alerts, distributed via the DTM-IOM Sudan mailing list.  For further information on displacement and mobility in Sudan, see Sudan Mobility Update (05). 

View original: https://dtm.iom.int/reports/natural-disaster-displacement-summary-floods-update-002

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DTM Sudan Flash Alert

Dated Sunday, 18 August 2024 - Update Two

Rains and Flooding in Al Fasher Locality, North Darfur

Between 12 and 17 August 2024, heavy rain and floods across Al Fasher locality, North Darfur reportedly displaced 867 households. The floods primarily affected Abu Shock IDP Camp of Al Fasher town and Zamzam IDP Camp of Zamzam town, Al Fasher locality. Field teams estimated that 867 houses were destroyed, and 1,389 houses and 1,028 latrines were partially damaged. Displaced households sought shelter with host communities within the same locality.

Note: The situation on the ground remains highly fluid. All figures should be understood as preliminary estimates only, pending further verification. DTM will continue to monitor the developments closely as network coverage permits and will provide regular updates on displacement and population mobility across Sudan. The latest DTM Sudan report is available here. DTM Sudan's Early Warning Flash Alerts provide immediate updates on incidents and sudden displacement in Sudan.

View original:

https://mailchi.mp/iom/dtm-sudan-flash-alert-rains-and-flooding-in-al-fasher-locality-north-darfur-update-002?e=fd4dda7f9b

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Sudan: Salesian Sisters care for wounded & displaced

THE Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco in Sudan run a primary school with 840 children. However, because of the conflict, there have been no classes since April 15. For now, the sisters run a small dispensary that functions as a first aid room for the children and others injured by the fighting.

The sisters say they "have nothing special to help the wounded with" and are forced to use an over-the-counter antiseptic and disinfectant to clean wounds. They occasionally administer antibiotics. 

Most clinics and hospitals have been forced to close, and humanitarian assistance such as medications and food are often looted while access to affected areas has at times been restricted, according to MSF. Read more.

Report at National Catholic Reporter Online - ncronline.org
By Tawanda Karombo in Harare, Zimbabwe
View Author Profile
Published Thursday 29 June 2023 - here is a full copy:

Remaining Salesian Sisters brave Sudan war to care for wounded and displaced

People board a truck as they leave Khartoum, Sudan, on June 19. Clashes resumed between Sudan's military and a powerful paramilitary force after a three-day cease-fire expired June 21. (AP, file)

Sr. Teresa Roszkowska remembers May 24 — the worst day in her 44 years as a Salesian Sister of Don Bosco living in Sudan — with a sense of trepidation, fear and insecurity. 

On this day, Roszkowska and three others of her order were saying the rosary inside the dining room at their house 20 kilometers outside the capital city of Khartoum when "heavy and horrible shootings" broke out. It was not for the first time, nor would it be the last.

Despite ceasefire agreements between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the two warring parties at the center of the civil conflict have been plaguing Sudan since April 15. 

Sudan fell into the hands of military control in 2021 after Omar Ahmad al-Bashir was thrown out of power in a coup in 2019. 

The military-controlled government has now fractured, leading to the outbreak of war as they fight for control of power.

The SAF and RSF have been dueling, with intense fighting on the streets of Darfur and Khartoum, affecting ordinary citizens, destroying infrastructure and halting school and church activities, as well as shutting down about 11 hospitals. The war has plunged the country into a crisis, leaving 600 people dead and 1 million others displaced from their homes, many of them fleeing into neighboring countries.

'There are days when we are full of abnormally fearful silence and all we do is just pray, and hope that God will touch those hearts of stone.'

—Salesian Sr. Teresa Roszkowska

Roszkowska, who is from Poland and arrived in Sudan on Jan. 24, 1989, has been witnessing the impact of the war on ordinary Sudanese people firsthand. She has had to stand steadfast amid the gloom of war at a time when other religious have been forced to flee.

On May 24, "we could not hear each other because of the noise from the shootings," she said. She added that, "in fear, some lay on the floor, feeling like it was the end" of the world. 

"We decided to run to the chapel for safety but that is the moment that the scared and wounded people from the shootings started to arrive at our house. As I ran towards the gate to open it, I really felt like it was the end of the world because of the sight of scared people running towards the house," Roszkowska told Global Sisters Report in an interview.

Her fear comes not out of her own vulnerability but out of care and worry for the situation that the war-ravaged citizens and children of Sudan have found themselves in, she said. 

There has been no real abatement to the crisis as the war rages on, disrupting telecom services and electricity supplies for lengthy periods. In fact, says Roszkowska, in mid-June the situation was "still worse" as several gunmen exchanged fire and shot wantonly into places where civilians were.

"The house was full of people as they were exchanging shooting and many more poor people, some with their children, were arriving wounded. Actually, one of the soldiers was the one bringing many of them from the shacks around our area. 

"There has been no day without these kinds of shootings and we are actually starting to get used to the sounds."

The Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco in Sudan say they "have nothing special to help the wounded with" and are forced to use an over-the-counter antiseptic and disinfectant to clean wounds. They occasionally administer antibiotics.

Most clinics and hospitals have been forced to close, and humanitarian assistance such as medications and food are often looted while access to affected areas has at times been restricted, according to Médecins Sans Frontières.

"After the looting of one of our medical warehouses in Khartoum, fridges were unplugged and medicines removed. The entire cold chain was ruined so the medicines are spoiled and can't be used to treat anyone," said Jean-Nicolas Armstrong Dangelser, emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan. 

Religious flee Sudan war

Over the years, a strong community of international Catholic sisters and other religious has been active in Sudan. According to Roszkowska, there have been many Catholic sisters from as far as India, El Salvador, Vietnam, South Sudan and Poland.

However, after the latest war erupted in April, only four Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco remain in Sudan. Global Sisters Report recently reported on Sr. Angelina Ebrahim Trilly Koko of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd saying that her congregation had already shut down several schools and hospitals serving thousands of residents and stopped pastoral work. 

On April 30, Archbishop Michael Didi Adgum Mangoria of Khartoum confirmed that "many people, including priests and nuns, have fled the most contested areas" of Sudan since April 15.

A man walks by a house hit in fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 25. (AP/Marwan Ali)

Amid this situation, Roszkowska and the other three remaining Salesian Don Bosco Sisters continue to assist those affected by the war in Sudan. Roszkowska says the sisters are "living and working among poor people living round our house in shacks and tents," after being displaced from their homes.

The Don Bosco Sisters run a primary school with 840 children. However, because of the war, there have been no classes since April 15. For now, the sisters run a small dispensary that functions as a first aid room for the children and others injured by the war.

Before the war, the sisters assisted women in learning to be self-reliant through courses such as pasta and bread-making, as well as baking biscuits and dressmaking. But the courses cannot be conducted now because the beneficiaries are constantly on the move, fleeing the war.

"True and deep love for the people to whom I am sent is keeping me going and I feel this strength is from God as a religious mission," Roszkowska said. "By being with the people of Sudan, all their troubles and suffering are mine too; when they cry, I cry with them."

At present, the Don Bosco Salesian Sisters of Sudan are providing shelter and food to some of those affected by the war, Christians and Muslims, and helping to save them from "bullets and senseless" fighting.

Smoke rises over Khartoum, Sudan, June 7, as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues. (AP)

"Daily about 100-140 children and mothers, sick, old, wounded are staying with us and they also get food here too," Roszkowska said. "Other pastoral programs are not possible at all. Every evening, we say the rosary with all the children and mothers in our house."

What is further compounding the situation for the Don Bosco Sisters of Sudan is that "there are not any agencies working or collaborating" with them. Being aged above 60 "and not in good health," the four Salesian Sisters have however resumed Mass which they have not had for more than a month.

'Hope for the better'

Very often, especially when the shootings are nearby, it is easy to feel hopeless, explained Roszkowska. However, greater hope for a better and peaceful Sudan gives the sisters the divine urge and unexplainable power to soldier on with the work of assisting the people.

"Yes, very often we feel hopeless, and more so at this current time we are in now," she said. "We just live as best as we can, knowing that we only have today to live as tomorrow may not be ours. But deep down, we have this overwhelming hope for the better."

In this sudden and horrible situation, there is nothing special to be happy about, Roszkowska said.

After the sisters' courage and decision at the beginning of the war to "open our home for whoever needs shelter and food," the house started to fill up with "children and poor people day and night." Seeing these people have access to food and shelter, their hearts were filled with "immense, unspoken deep joy" until now. 

Yet amid the turmoil, senseless destruction of property and shootings, displacement of innocent civilians and killings, the Salesian Sisters' optimism is tinged with a sense of uncertainty for the future. 

Their only faith that the situation will turn around for the better is in God's ability to turn the hearts of steel and bullets of those at the center of the conflict into hearts of peace.

"We can't imagine what 'they' are planning to do next, or which ways they want to pursue to stop this senseless war," Roszkowska said. "There are days when we are full of abnormally fearful silence and all we do is just pray, and hope that God will touch those hearts of stone, change their minds and that the situation will be better."

This story appears in the Hope Amid Turmoil: Sisters in Conflict Areas feature series. View the full series.

View original: https://www.ncronline.org/news/remaining-salesian-sisters-brave-sudan-war-care-wounded-and-displaced

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S. Sudan: Chinese doctors offer free medical services

THIS is good news.  Chinese doctors are offering free medical services and training in traditional medicine across South Sudan. 

The use of traditional Chinese medicine (TMC) has a history of about 2,000 years and it involves various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, exercise, and dietary therapy.

Since 2013, Chinese doctors have offered free medical services across South Sudan and also helped with capacity building of health workers.  Seems like a good career opportunity for students. Read more below.

Article from Xinhuanet.com - Editor: yan

Date published 03 August 2019 00:20:24

Chinese doctors train South Sudan students in traditional medicine

JUBA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The seventh batch of the China medical team in South Sudan on Friday organized a day-long lecture about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for medical students at the Upper Nile University.

About a hundred students of medicine and nursing turned up for the lecture given by TCM expert Tang Youbin.

"It was a great chance to learn and if there is any possibility of further learning, I will expand my knowledge and bring it to South Sudan," said Nyikang Andrew Awut, a fifth-year medical student.

John Akot, chairperson of Nursing Students Association at Upper Nile University, said the training was helpful because it exposed some of the cultural practices shared between South Sudanese and Chinese communities.

Akot appreciated the Chinese doctors for sharing their knowledge with the people of South Sudan, adding that he would seek further training in TCM if there are opportunities in the future.

"The lecture was beneficial for me and if I get any chance to learn, I will apply so that I learn more about it," he said.

According to Tang, the use of TCM has a history of about 2,000 years and it involves various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, exercise, and dietary therapy.

Tang said the training was part of efforts by the Chinese doctors to promote the use of TCM in South Sudan's healthcare system.

Among the various TCM remedies, acupuncture, used in the treatment of body pains and several physical and emotional illnesses through pricking the skin or tissues with needles, has so far gained popularity in South Sudan.

"When we came to South Sudan, the first thing for us is cross culture. I want to know your culture and you can know our culture and traditional Chinese medicine is one way of knowing our culture," Tang said.

Simon Deng, Dean of College of Medicine at Upper Nile University said the training exposed the medical students to various forms of therapies used to treat illness across the world.

He said the university seeks to increase engagements with the Chinese doctors in the areas of capacity building.

Since 2013, Chinese doctors have offered free medical services across South Sudan and also helped with capacity building of health workers.

The seventh batch of the Chinese doctors, composed of 13 specialists and two support staff, are currently stationed at the Juba Teaching and Referral Hospital. They will also be conducting routine outreach programs during their one-year stay in South Sudan.

SOURCE:  http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-08/03/c_138279460.htm

Sudan’s rapidly rising prices, lack of medicines - Hospitals and pharmacies short of normal saline

Article from Radio Dabanga.org

Date:  28 July 2019 KASSALA / EL GENEINA / EL FULA

Complaints about rapidly rising prices, lack of medicines in Sudan

A pharmacy in the outskirts of Khartoum (File photo)

Many Sudanese are suffering from rising prices of food and medicines. A number of medicines have become hard to find or are not available at all.

Listeners told Radio Dabanga from Halfa El Jadeeda in eastern Sudan’s Kassala that the price for a kilogram of lamb meat jumped from DSDG 300 ($7*) to SDG 400 last week. The price for a kilogram of beef rose from SDG 180 to SDG 280. Adding a salad to the meal now costs SDG 100 ($2.20) instead of SDG 30.

In El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, the price of a gallon of benzine rose to SDG 180 and a gallon of diesel SDG 150.

Various people in the city lamented the high food costs. “We now pay SDG 2,200 ($49) for a 100kg sack of sorghum,” one of them said.

Shortages of medicines were reported in the five states of Darfur and in North and West Kordofan. 

Pharmacists confirmed that a variety of medicines are not on the markets anymore.

They complained about a lack of life-saving medicines, medications for psychiatric and neurological patients, and fever drops for new-borns.

“Many people come to the pharmacy with prescriptions but return to the hospital or home empty-handed because the medicines are not available anymore or they cannot afford to pay for them,” a pharmacist reported from El Fula in West Kordofan.

Already in September 2018, Radio Dabanga reported that Sudanese in various parts of the country were having difficulty in coping with the continuously rising food and consumer goods prices. A number of families complained that the circumstances forced them to reduce their daily meals to just one.

* As foreign exchange rates can vary in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the daily US dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS)

View original article here: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/complaints-about-rapidly-rising-prices-lack-of-medicines-in-sudan

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Sudan hospitals and pharmacies short of normal saline

Note from Sudan Watch Editor posted Friday 02 Aug 2019 12:36 GMT UK: 

On Twitter, Sudanese tweeters claim there is a lack of normal saline in all

hospitals and even pharmacies. Click on the following hashtag to read the

tweets on Twitter and calls for help: #NormalSalineForSudan