The danger of collapse is facing the healthcare sector in Sudan… How?

As the fighting continues between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in the capital Khartoum and several other cities in the country for the third consecutive month, amid concerns of a complete collapse of the healthcare system in the country, the Central Sudan Doctors’ Union has warned of the danger of the continued assassination of medical personnel and the targeting of hospitals.

An armed force assassinated a laboratory specialist in one of the hospitals in the El Droshab area north of Khartoum on Friday, bringing the number of casualties among medical personnel since the outbreak of the conflict in mid-April to about 23 doctors and healthcare workers.

At the same time, hospitals in the capital and Darfur states continue to be taken out of service due to deteriorating security conditions. The healthcare sector in cities and less volatile areas suffers from a severe shortage of medical personnel, treatment supplies, and medications, in addition to prolonged power outages for hours and days.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mohamed Abbas, who works in hospitals in Darfur state, confirmed that a number of medical personnel have been threatened in various ways, even inside operating rooms, noting that a large number of them have been killed.

Abbas explained to Sky News Arabia that pharmaceutical stores in the city of Geneina and several other cities in the region are continuously being looted.

He added that many hospitals have been completely or partially destroyed, especially the hospital in the city of Geneina, which is completely out of service, warning of a major health catastrophe in several cities in the Darfur region due to the accumulation of bodies of victims of the ongoing clashes there.

The war has had catastrophic consequences on the healthcare sector, with about 70% of hospitals in Khartoum being taken out of service due to continuous shelling or the inability of medical personnel to reach hospitals or due to a shortage of medical supplies.

Doctors and medical personnel are working throughout Sudan under extremely complicated conditions to save patients and the injured amidst the near-total collapse of the healthcare sector, which has become a battlefield for battles and fighting.

The Central Sudan Doctors’ Union stated in a statement that “the tragedies will not stop as long as the war continues in all its ferocity,” indicating that it will work with voluntary work allies to provide assistance as much as possible to save critical cases despite the difficulties in communication.

Recently, alarming and concerning reports have emerged about the ongoing violence in the Darfur region in western Sudan, which has not fully recovered from the effects of the bloody civil war it witnessed in 2003. The United Nations and international humanitarian organizations have reported killings and rapes in some cities in the region, especially Geneina, which has been described as the most vulnerable to destruction.

The war has led to the displacement of millions of people from hot zones, according to the United Nations. The number of internally displaced persons in the country has reached two million, and the number of refugees in neighboring countries has exceeded 600,000, with around 160,000 of them in Egypt.

The death toll since the outbreak of the clashes has exceeded 2,000 victims at a minimum. As for the Darfur region, which consists of five states and covers a quarter of Sudan’s territory, tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring countries, amid reports of persecution against many of them during their escape.