WHO: Healthcare System in Sudan Is Collapsing

The WHO director visits the children’s ward at Port Sudan Hospital. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The WHO director visits the children’s ward at Port Sudan Hospital. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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WHO: Healthcare System in Sudan Is Collapsing

The WHO director visits the children’s ward at Port Sudan Hospital. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The WHO director visits the children’s ward at Port Sudan Hospital. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that Sudan’s healthcare system is “collapsing in some areas but holding up in others thanks to the tireless work of doctors.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Port Sudan on Saturday, accompanied by Dr. Hanan Balkhi, the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

This marks Tedros’ first visit to Sudan since the conflict erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

Balkhi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the health situation in Sudan is challenging in many areas but improving in others due to the efforts of local doctors.

She highlighted the importance of Tedros’ visit in understanding the health crisis, particularly for children.

Balkhi also noted that the current security situation makes it difficult for doctors to work effectively. She said there are no accurate estimates of the financial needs for humanitarian and health support in Sudan.

“We hope for a quick resolution to the crisis and are working to secure the necessary support to help address these challenges,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Tedros visited the Pediatric Emergency Hospital in Port Sudan and examined the overcrowded malnutrition ward.

Dr. Ayman Abdelkader, the hospital’s medical director, called the visit “very important” and noted that Tedros has promised to help set up a new children’s hospital.

Sudanese Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim welcomed Tedros at Port Sudan airport, noting that the visit shows the WHO’s ongoing support for Sudan.

Ibrahim stressed that the WHO’s work goes beyond financial aid, involving efforts to rally global organizations to fund activities in Sudan.

Tedros will meet with key officials, including Deputy Chairman Malik Agar and council member Ibrahim Jaber, as well as UN representatives and staff from shelters and health facilities.

Since the conflict began, more than 80% of hospitals and medical facilities in Sudan have gone out of service.

The violence has caused at least 30,000 deaths and over 70,000 injuries.

In June, the WHO warned that access to aid and health services in Sudan is “extremely limited.” About 15 million people in Sudan need urgent healthcare, including maternal and newborn care, cancer and diabetes treatment, and other essential services.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 People in Gaza, Keep up Pressure on North

Family members mourn next to the bodies of their loved ones at Nasser Hospital following an Israeli airstrike that claimed the lives of at least eight people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
Family members mourn next to the bodies of their loved ones at Nasser Hospital following an Israeli airstrike that claimed the lives of at least eight people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 People in Gaza, Keep up Pressure on North

Family members mourn next to the bodies of their loved ones at Nasser Hospital following an Israeli airstrike that claimed the lives of at least eight people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
Family members mourn next to the bodies of their loved ones at Nasser Hospital following an Israeli airstrike that claimed the lives of at least eight people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 03 November 2024. (EPA)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in Gaza on Monday and residents said they feared new air and ground attacks and forced evacuations were aimed at emptying areas in the enclave's north to create buffer zones against Hamas fighters.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said Israel was scaling back the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza, compounding shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies.

Israel denied this. But it said separately on Monday it had officially notified the United Nations that it was ending its relations with UNRWA, which has been a vital provider of aid to Palestinian civilians during the 13-month-long war between Israel and Hamas.

In the latest bloodshed, medics said seven people were killed in an attack on two houses in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia on Monday. Five more were killed in separate strikes in central and southern parts of the enclave, medics told Reuters.

Several people were wounded in the attacks, they said, adding that Israeli forces had sent tanks into the northeast of Nuseirat camp earlier on Monday.

Israel deployed tanks into Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia on Oct. 5, saying it intended to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces were continuing to bomb the Kamal Adwan Hospital and had injured many staff and patients.

"The medical staff cannot move between the hospital departments and cannot rescue their injured colleagues. It seems that a decision has been made to execute all the staff who refused to evacuate the hospital," it said.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on that situation.

Palestinians said the new offensives and orders for people to leave were "ethnic cleansing" aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones. Israel denies this, saying it is combating Hamas fighters who launch attacks from there.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office put the number of Palestinians killed since Oct. 5 at 1,800. It said 4,000 others were wounded.

There was no confirmation on the figure from the territory's health ministry and Israel has repeatedly accused the Hamas media office of exaggerating the figures of the dead.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia in the past month.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, according to Gaza authorities, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins.

The war erupted after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

'UNSPEAKABLE SUFFERING'

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on Monday that Israel has scaled back the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip to an average of 30 trucks a day, the lowest in a long time. This represented only 6 percent of the commercial and humanitarian supplies that used to enter Gaza before the war, he said.

"This cannot meet the needs of 2 million people, many of whom are starving, sick, and in desperate conditions," Lazzarini said on X.

An Israeli government spokesman said no limit had been imposed on aid entering Gaza, with 47 aid trucks entering northern Gaza on Sunday alone.

Israeli statistics reviewed by Reuters last week showed that aid shipments allowed into Gaza in October remained at their lowest levels since October 2023.

Earlier on Monday, Israel's foreign ministry said it had officially notified the United Nations it was cancelling the agreement that regulated its relations with UNRWA since 1967 - effectively banning it.

"Restricting humanitarian access and at the same time dismantling UNRWA will add an additional layer of suffering to already unspeakable suffering," Lazzarini said.