A dire medical need coexists with Sudan’s unrest

Sudanese patients with renal insufficiency receive care at a center in Port Sudan as others wait, as hospitals around the Red Sea state endure partial or total closure.

“Out of 37 (dialysis) machines, we are currently running 25, as there is high demand and a machine breaks down every day. Yasser Mahmoud, the director of a renal dialysis facility in Port Sudan, warned that if there are no rapid fixes and no medical devices or equipment, the center will have to close.

According to the World Health Organization, the continued combat between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is forcing more than 80% of Sudan’s hospitals out of operation.

The children’s hospital is currently working at 50% capacity, while the trauma hospital is currently out of commission. Some of its medical professionals had to be let go by the management. While the trauma hospital is completely closed, the hospital is only accepting critical cases, according to Ibrahim Malak al-Nasser, a representative of the Red Sea state’s Ministry of Health.

More than 1 million people have fled the Sudan to neighboring countries following four months of warfare, and those who remain there are running out of food and dying from a lack of healthcare, according to a Tuesday warning from the UN.