An international medical NGO on Sunday reported that at least 13 children have passed away recently during a possible measles outbreak in internal displacement camps in Sudan’s White Nile state, amid fighting between the two warring factions of the country.
“The circumstance is urgent. The most critical health issues, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, are suspected measles and child malnutrition.
MSF Sudan stated in a series of tweets: “Sudan‘s White Nile state is receiving an increasing number of refugees from the fighting. Thousands are being housed in nine camps, mostly women and kids.
From June 6 to 27, the NGO treated 223 children with suspected measles in White Nile camps, it said, with 72 – including the 13 who died – admitted to two clinics it supports.
“We are receiving sick children with suspected measles every day, most with complications,” MSF Sudan tweeted.
The NGO said it had received a total of 3,145 patients to the two clinics in the month of June, adding, “as more people arrive, there’s an urgent need to increase assistance, scale up services like vaccinations, nutritional support, shelter, water & sanitation.”
“The rainy season is approaching, and we’re concerned about a rise in waterborne diseases and malaria endemic to the area,” MSF Sudan warned.
There has been a steep rise in Sudanese refugees since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15. Nearly 2.8 million people have fled, according to data from IOM, the UN Migration Agency.
At least 2,152,936 people are estimated to have been internally displaced, while another 644,861 fled across Sudan’s borders into neighboring countries, according to the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix report published Tuesday.