UNHCR said that since the fighting started, “at least 20,000 refugees” have fled across the border into Chad, and more are expected to arrive. IOM warned that monitoring and relief teams are engaged in a race against time as the arrival of rainy season in late May - early June is projected to cut off large swaths of the border area between Sudan and Chad. The fighting has already displaced thousands of people, and Paul Dillon, the spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration ( IOM), said the agency has activated a displacement tracking tool at 16 points of entry in neighbouring countries to monitor incoming flows.ĭata generated by the tool is broken down by age, gender and health needs, and provided to all humanitarian actors to inform their response. In addition to “very high” biological hazards, there is also a risk of spoilage of stocks of much-needed blood bags, as the lab is also the site of the central blood bank. “Trained laboratory technicians no longer have access to the laboratory, and with power cuts, it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the laboratory for medical purposes”, WHO said. Speaking to reporters from Sudan on Tuesday, WHO’s representative in the country, Dr Nima Saeed Abid, also said that the agency is concerned about the occupation of the National Public Health Laboratory by one of the parties involved in the fighting. On Monday, UN chief António Guterres made clear in the UN Security Council that the UN would stay and deliver, and stand by the Sudanese people, as they continue to strive towards civilian rule and a new, democratic future.
The agency stressed that it has stocks of essential medicines, blood bags, and supplies for surgery and trauma care “waiting for delivery as soon as safe access is ensured”. “As the needs are increasing, violence has made the delivery of aid near impossible”, WHO said. WHO also flagged rising health concerns due to ongoing outbreaks of dengue and malaria, as well as a looming cholera alert amid damage to water infrastructure. WHO said that the attacks “must stop” as they bar people in need from accessing essential health services. The UN’s health agency has verified 14 attacks on health since the violence began, with 8 deaths and 2 injuries. WHO noted that the actual figures “are likely to be higher” as at least a quarter of all health facilities in Khartoum, where most of the fighting is taking place, are not functional. Rising death and injury tollĪccording to figures from the Sudanese Health Ministry quoted by the World Health Organization ( WHO) on Tuesday, 459 people had been killed in the fighting and over 4,000 injured as of 24 April. He said that civil society networks are responding to the most urgent needs in their communities, “including mobilizing medical assistance, distributing food and water, and assisting civilians”.īefore the fighting erupted, some 15.8 million people – about a third of the Sudanese population – were already in need of aid. Laerke, before emphasizing the “heroic” efforts of the Sudanese people themselves. “We and our partners continue to deliver whenever and wherever feasible”, insisted Mr. Laerke said a humanitarian hub is being established in the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan. Aid delivery ‘whenever and wherever feasible’įollowing a temporary relocation of hundreds of UN staff members and their families from the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday, a UN leadership team will remain in Sudan to oversee humanitarian operations going forward. He underscored that humanitarian operations were also impacted, and that there were more reports of looting of humanitarian supplies and warehouses. OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva that the people of Sudan, already “deeply affected” by humanitarian needs, are now “ staring into the abyss”.
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