Thousands of cancer and kidney patients at risk in Sudan

A patient undergoes dialysis in Khartoum, Sudan. (Courtesy photo)

The Sudanese government on Wednesday said that thousands of cancer and kidney disease patients in the country face a real danger as a result of the lack of health care and vital medicines.

The Sudanese government on Wednesday said that thousands of cancer and kidney disease patients in the country face a real danger as a result of the lack of health care and vital medicines.

The minister of Information who also doubles as the government spokesman, Graham Abdulkader, told the press statement after a meeting of the National Health Emergency Committee held in Port Sudan and chaired by Lieutenant General Ibrahim Jaber, that there are 26, 000 cancer and kidney disease patients at risk due to lack of medicines.

According to Abdulqader, large quantities of medicines have been seized in Al-Jazeera State by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“The challenge lies in accessing these medicines for distribution to patients,” he said. “The health ministry needs USD 30 million to cover urgent health requirements.”

For his part, Haitham Mohammed Ali, the Al Jazeera State health minister, confirmed that the country’s health sector lost the strategic stock of medicines in Al-Jazeera State, which he considered to be a great danger to patients in Sudan.

“We lost a very vital medicine for cancer patients in Al-Jazeera State which was allocated for six months in storage which is equivalent to USD 20 million,” he stated.

Ali called on international and regional organizations to urgently intervene by providing life-saving medicines to replace those that were lost in Al-Jazeera State.