A young child is measured at a clinic in a refugee camp in Sudan. At an IPA-hosted press conference, Sudanese leftists discussed the impact of war on the distribution of proper healthcare. – Picture: Eduardo Soteras Jalil / UNHCR
By Aseel Saleh
Since the beginning of the civil war in Sudan, the Sudanese people have experienced serious challenges in receiving proper healthcare.
“The health sector has already been weak and fragile since 1979, when former Sudanese President Jaafar Nimeiri adopted the instructions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Sudanese government to refrain from providing main services including health and education to the Sudanese people to achieve devolution,” said Dr Ihssane Fagiri, leading member of the Doctors’ Sector of the Communist Party, member of the Sudanese Women’s Union, founding member of the No to Women’s Oppression Initiative and member of the Doctors Syndicate Preliminary Office.
Fagiri was speaking at an online press conference in July to discuss the war in Sudan from a left perspective with Sudanese activists from the frontlines of the struggle, organised by the International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA), Peoples Dispatch and Madaar.
Activists from the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), the Sudanese Women’s Union, and the Doctors’ sector of SCP and the Sudanese Women’s Union were key speakers in the conference.
“According to IMF instructions, this would be achieved by devoluting hospitals under the governance of localities. As the localities in Sudan suffered from poverty, the devolution process resulted in the deterioration of the healthcare system,” Fagiri said.
Fagiri blamed the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic movements, who present what she called “parasitic capitalism”, for destroying the country and the health sector in particular by accelerating the implementation of the IMF’s plan.
When the war erupted, the conditions in health facilities became worse than ever. In the first weeks of the war, health facilities were targeted by the Janjaweed and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
As a result, 70 percent of the facilities went out of service, and the majority of Sudanese people who suffered from kidney failure, passed away. Many also were forced to relocate to other states looking for proper healthcare, which has been affected in nine Sudanese states.
Vaccination was halted because centres designated for that purpose in some states were struck. Cancer, kidney and blood diseases patients have been affected the most, particularly in Al Jazeera and Madani. The invasion of the state of Al Jazeera caused the biggest health catastrophe in Sudan.
The war also resulted in sanitation and environmental problems, because dead bodies were thrown in the streets in large numbers, with many corpses mauled by dogs. This caused the spread of disease, including cholera. 9,000 people were infected with cholera, out of whom 300 passed away.
Starvation, resulting in malnutrition, has affected children. According to UN and WHO data, child malnutrition in Sudan is at emergency levels, with some areas such as the ZamZam camp experiencing acute malnutrition in children under five at levels as high as 30 percent. According to the World Food Programme, 25.6 million people in Sudan are facing acute hunger.
The widespread incidents of rape have taken a significant toll on the mental and psychological health of victims and their family members.
Fagiri speaks of the deep trauma many women face after witnessing their children being killed in streets after being subjected to rape. One of the biggest obstacles for the health sector has been tackling psychological trauma. “This won’t be possible without ending the war,” Fagiri said.
In terms of the physical impacts of sexual violence, in some cases HIV treatment has been provided to victims of rape, but other physical chronic health conditions may develop due to rape, such as haemorrhoids and other diseases.
The ban on humanitarian aid access has resulted in the unavailability of treatment for chronic diseases. While many medics are ready to provide medical healthcare and psychiatric support to displaced people in camps, clinics and equipment are not available to make this possible.
Although the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) established camps for internally displaced people and refugees, these camps lack the simplest daily basic needs, particularly toilets, drinking water, beds and blankets. Sanitary pads are not available for women either.
Amid the devastating situation, the Sudanese Communist Party has not stopped fighting to propose solutions for an end of the war and a restoration of democracy. It has been working to restore the position of trade unions and labour movements, and to recruit farmers to protect their lands.
The party has been calling for unity among Sudanese movements that were seeking to safeguard the revolution, and the sustainability of the transitional period to confront the collapse of democracy and end the civil war.
The SCP has called on Sudanese movements to prevent the UAE’s and Egypt’s intervention in the Sudanese national affairs, which undermined Sudan’s sovereignty and economy-related decisions.
Niamat Kuku, Member of the Central Committee of the Sudanese Communist Party and human rights activist, called on the international community to declare Sudan as a catastrophe and famine area, even if this was against the will of the Sudanese government.
She also called for opening safe corridors for the access of humanitarian aid and ending the war to enable the Sudanese people to make their national decision.
Moreover, Kuku confirmed that the Sudanese Communist Party has rejected the dialogues held to solve the Sudanese conflict outside of Sudan, because they are led by regional states which seek polarisation.
The party has insisted on the unity of Sudan in terms of people and territory. The party has asserted that all economic, political and social decisions should be made by the Sudanese people, not the military institution.
Randa Mohammed stated that the Sudanese Women’s Union has been co-operating with many campaigns to end the famine by pressuring the international community and humanitarian organisations to make aid accessible, to activate the international humanitarian law, and prevent sexual and gender-based violence.
She urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to activate its rules to stop the genocide and rape incidents. Mohammed suggested providing women with the required means so they can farm within their households, to limit the risk of famine.
From Randa Mohammed’s point of view, negotiations have contributed to further igniting the war in the absence of a constitutional framework. This puts everything under the control of the Sudanese Armed forces, instead of protecting the Sudanese people and specifying the duties of the armed forces.
Fagiri suggested that an appeal containing a proposal for the establishment of clinics should be submitted to humanitarian organisations with the assistance of international media outlets. She also called for establishing camps that respect the human dignity of the Sudanese people, who currently live in tents amid harsh weather conditions, lack of fresh water and safe shelters that may protect them from the elements.
The speakers have urged media outlets and journalists to stand in solidarity with the Sudanese people and to continue reporting on the situation to show the truth. They have called on them to amplify their voice in advocating for the Sudanese people and their rights as the civil war in Sudan has been subjected to systematic media blackout and intentional silence by international media outlets.
They have accused the media outlets of either being unable to cover what has been happening in Sudan, or of being complicit with warring parties.
Speakers have placed emphasis on bolstering and strengthening the international solidarity movement with Sudan to raise awareness and increase pressure on the warring parties to stop the violence.
This article was first published on Peoples Dispatch