WHO warns of increasing attacks on Sudanese hospitals

Hospitals and other health facilities in war-torn Sudan are coming under increasing attacks, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Wednesday, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries continues.

Since the war began in April 2023, the WHO has recorded 82 attacks on health facilities, “including 17 in the last six weeks alone,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

The country is now suffering from the “spread of diseases such as cholera, malaria and meningitis,” she warned during a video conference.

According to the United Nations, the conflict between the regular army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has left tens of thousands dead and forced more than ten million people to flee.

With no signs of the war abating, the delivery of humanitarian aid faces “administrative, security and logistical obstacles,” says Shible Sahbani, the WHO representative in Sudan.

Despite these challenges, “WHO is distributing 510 tonnes of medicines and relief supplies between January and July,” he added, saying that last week two trucks arrived in North Darfur from Chad and seven trucks were on their way to Darfur from Port Sudan.

Sahbani said hunger was the main reason Sudanese were leaving the country, citing testimonies from asylum seekers in neighboring Chad.

According to a recent UN report, nearly 26 million people, or just over half the population, face high levels of “acute food insecurity.”

Humanitarian organizations say the difficulty in obtaining data on the ground has prevented Sudan from officially declaring a famine.

Both the army and the RSF are accused of obstructing humanitarian aid and nearly destroying Sudan’s already fragile health system.