Malaria cases are increasing among women and children at El Kuma camp for the displaced persons in El Fasher town, Sudan’s North Darfur State, a camp leader said.
Ibrahim Kreik Ibrahim, a sheik of El Kuma camp, told Radio Tamazuj Thursday that the deteriorating health conditions at the center contributed to the rise in malaria cases, saying they have recorded many malaria cases, mostly women and children.
According to the camp leader, the number of displaced people from Nyala, Tawila, El Fasher, and neighboring localities has reached 1,400 households in El Fasher.
Ibrahim further said there are many other challenges facing the displaced, including the high prices of medicines at private healthcare centers after the national health insurance suspended its services. He revealed that at least two people died last month due to the lack of drugs.
He pointed out that a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Health headed by Jaafar Abdullah Ali visited El Fasher last week to investigate and evaluate the spread of cases of malaria disease in the state.
“A Federal Ministry of Health delegation visited us,” Ibrahim said. “But they did not provide assistance and medicines for the displaced. We hope that they will support us because the situation is terrible.”
Ibrahim called on all national and international organizations and the authorities to intervene urgently before their health conditions deteriorate further.
After nearly six months of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), more than 5.6 million people have been displaced within and outside the country, according to the United Nations.
About 18,750 people were newly displaced within Sudan over the past week, bringing the total number of people displaced across the country since mid-April to 4.57 million, UN figures show.