Global Courant
At least 13 children have died in recent weeks as a result of a measles outbreak in internally displaced camps in Sudan’s White Nile state, amid conflict between the country’s two warring factions.
“The situation is critical. Suspected measles and malnutrition in children are the most urgent health problems,” said the Sudanese branch of Médecins Sans Frontière, or “Doctors without Borders.”
In a series of tweets, the international organization said: “The White Nile state of Sudan is receiving an increasing number of people fleeing conflict. Nine camps are hosting hundreds of thousands, mostly women and children.”
From June 6 to 27, the NGO treated 223 children with measles symptoms in the White Nile camps, of the 72 infected 13 died in the clinics it supports. “We are expecting sick children with suspected measles every day, most with complications,” MSF Sudan tweeted.
Doctors Without Borders said it received a total of 3,145 patients at the two clinics in June, adding, “With more people coming in, there is an urgent need to increase assistance, to increase services such as vaccinations, nutritional support, shelter , water and hygiene.”
“The rainy season is approaching and we are concerned about an increase in water-borne diseases and endemic malaria in this area,” warned MSF Sudan.
There has been a large increase in Sudanese refugees since the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on 15 April. According to data from IOM, the UN Migration Agency, nearly 2.8 million people have left.
At least 2,152,936 people are estimated to have been internally displaced, while another 644,861 fled across Sudan’s borders to neighboring countries, according to the IOM’s displacement tracking report released on Tuesday.
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