Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics

Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics
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Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics

Sudanese Initiative Launched to Protect Medics

The Sudanese people are increasingly concerned with the spread of the new coronavirus, especially after a third person tested positive on Wednesday.

Many COVID-19 social awareness campaigns have been launched in the country.

Israa Adam Ahmed, the head of Builders Without Borders, a volunteer-based community service, pointed out that a greater burden falls on social workers to help in raising awareness to prevent matters from getting worse as the country already has a weak healthcare system.

Ahmed added that even developed states weren’t able to curb the pandemic.

Ahmed cautioned against non-compliance with the preventive guidelines, advice provided by health officials and decisions taken by local authorities.

She recommended social distancing, warning that public gatherings could lead to a catastrophic scenario in Sudan.

As for coronavirus social work done by Builders Without Borders, Ahmed said the group had carried out an awareness campaign in some of Sudan’s busiest markets.

During the campaign, volunteers distributed sterilizers to the public.

A number of doctors have launched the "Hanahmih" initiative, which aims to protect the medical staff working in hospitals from the risk of infection, and to provide protective masks and eyewear by collecting donations.

The head of the initiative, Dr.Manal Al-Duqair, said that the move started on social media and was successful in providing sterilizers and masks.

“Hospitals in Sudan need a (million) protective face masks. Deaths among Sudanese medics could match Italy and China if they are not protected,” Duqair said.

Young men and women in a number of Sudanese cities and villages have been active in sterilizing mosques, and providing sterilizers and disinfectants for pedestrians at transportation and road stations.

Sudanese pharmacist Fatima Mohamed Al-Hassan says that pharmacists are spending unremitting efforts to support the government.

In order to help with the scarcity of sterilizers, Hassan revealed that some pharmacists are producing sanitizers, locally distributing them to hospitals and the public.



EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, as the group claimed attacks deep into Israel.  

The Israeli military said Iran-backed Hezbollah fired around 160 projectiles into Israel during the day. Some of them were intercepted but others caused damage to houses in central Israel, according to AFP images.  

A day after the health ministry said Israeli strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon killed 84 people, state media reported two strikes on Sunday on the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel's military said it had attacked "headquarters" of the group "hidden within civilian structures" in south Beirut.

War between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September, nearly a year after the group began launching strikes in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following that group's October 7 attack on Israel.

The conflict has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.  

On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.  

Earlier this week, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was "within our grasp" and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.  

In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

"We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said.  

"Lebanon is on the brink of collapse", he warned.  

Under Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces present in the southern border area.  

The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, and reiterated earlier calls for "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon."