After the Sudanese Army recaptured the Khartoum region of Khartoum’s capital in March, tens of thousands of people returned to check out their homes and reunite with their loved ones.
The joy of returning has been mitigated by the shock of seeing the damage caused over almost two years, under the control of paramilitary groups that have fought against the paramilitary forces (SAF), which have been recognized by many Sudan and the United Nations as de facto authorities of Sudan by many and the United Nations.
In areas where hospitals and food and medical shops were systematically looted by the RSF, many returnees began to get sick.
Omdurmann spins around
Many of the returnees had settled in Omdurman, one of the three cities of the capital. There, living conditions were slightly better than other cities. This is because some areas of Omdurman were not under RSF control, isolated it from violent clashes, looting and looting.
Omdurman quickly became overcrowded and became “thousands of people.” [returning] From Egypt alone,” said Dr. Dirar Abeer, a member of Khartoum’s emergency response room, and the neighborhood committee is leading relief efforts across the country.
The crowding meant the accelerated spread of cholera, an acute, highly contagious diarrhea infection endemic to Sudan and could be fatal if not treated, Dr. Avia said.
“In the area south of the Nile River in Omdurman, there are many decaying corpses next to it. [or in] Nile, and this is [partially] Badawi, a volunteer at Omdurman, refused to give him his full name because of his sensitivity to speaking on Warzone.
Cholera has become a sudan epidemic, spreading across several states, including the White Nile and Gadalif, killing hundreds in the past two weeks.
Like Khartoum, this range was driven by overcrowding and the lack of important services in these areas.
Waterborne diseases can be stopped with basic hygiene and regulations, said Fazli Kostan, project coordinator for borderless physicians known for French Initial MSF.
“But that’s really impossible right now,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the lack of electricity pumping water since Omdurman’s electric grid fell on May 14th.
The RSF fired a barrage of suicide drones that day, which took out major power plants and grids, resulting in a sharp rise in cases.
Safe drinking and bathing People who were deprived of water relied on drinking contaminated water from the Nile River and scooped the water out of the ground after it rained, Badawi said.
The SAF Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a massive surge in daily cholera cases in the country’s capital region between May 15th and May 25th, with at least 172 people dead between May 20th and May 27th.
The United Nations says there is a daily incident in late May where it spiked from 90 to over 815 people.
Patient waiting in the street
People who get sick often rush to the nearest hospital and are nervous about the already unoverwhelmed well-equipped health department. However, local volunteers said many people have not experienced life-threatening symptoms and would be better to stay home and isolate themselves.
Overcrowding in hospitals further exacerbated the spread spread of the disease, and overstretched the already collapsed health sector, they explained.
“We don’t have enough medication or medical tools. The proportion of people who come to the hospital is much higher than we can handle,” said Kareem Al Noah, a medic at Arnao Hospital in Omdurman.
” [remaining hospitals] They are fully capable, people are waiting for treatment and they are busy on the streets,” added Arnoa.
Dr. Avia feels that the SAF-backed health authorities aren’t doing enough to tackle the epidemic. She admitted that the health sector has been largely destroyed by the RSF, but she believes current health authorities can do more.
Al Jazeera submitted written questions to Dr. Montasser Towarra, a spokesman for MOH, and asked him what the Ministry is doing to support volunteers and provide basic regulations.
He had not answered the question by the time of publication.
Hunger exacerbates the crisis
Sudan is also suffering from an acute hunger crisis.
Since the Civil War, millions of Sudanese people have struggled to feed their families for corrupt harvests, systematic looting of markets and food aid, and the destruction of their homes and livelihoods.
According to the United Nations, about 25 million people, currently, more than half of the population, are suffering from extreme food shortages.
According to Sudan and Hungry expert Alex De Waal, hunger can weaken the body and lead to an acute increase in infectious diseases.
He pointed out that civilians, especially children, are likely to die of illness if they are on the brink of starvation.
“We could see hundreds of thousands of deaths [due to these factors] The following year,” warned De Waal.
The United Nations also warns that up to one million children could die of cholera unless the spread is stopped quickly.
The only way to stop a health crisis is to repair basic regulations such as electricity and sewage systems to improve sanitation, De Waal said.
However, he believes that restoring critical services is not a priority for the Army, and that remains a de facto authority.
Al Jazeera sent a written question to SAF spokesman Nabil Abdullah, asking if the Army was planning to repair important resources, such as the bombed electric grid.
“These questions are for the Ministry of Health, not for the Army.” Abdullah said.
MOH’s Tawarra also did not respond to these questions.
De Waal suspects that the Army prioritizes combat operations against the RSF.
“My sense is that the Army is growing both financially and systematically and cannot prioritize anything other than fighting war,” he told Al Jazeera.
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