Khartoum, May 2(Darfur24) The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that large numbers of people in Sudan may die due to a lack of basic services, as well as an outbreak of disease, as fighting continues between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the United Nations, said medical stocks are running dangerously low in areas devastated by fighting, including the capital, Khartoum, and West and Central Darfur.
Prices of basic commodities – fuel, basic foodstuffs and bottled water – have also increased by 40-60% or more in some areas.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provided vital water, sanitation and hygiene support to six hospitals in Khartoum, as well as trucking water to a hospital in North Darfur. It also provided health and nutritional kits to health centers in El Fasher, the state capital.
The International Organization for Migration( IOM) estimates that more than 334,000 people have been displaced within Sudan since the conflict erupted more than two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, UNHCR and its partners have expanded relief with increased border crossings from Sudan.
UNHCR estimates that more than 100,000 refugees have so far fled Sudan to neighboring countries.
Farhan Haq mentioned that most of them are Sudanese refugees who arrived in Chad and Egypt – the majority of whom are women and children – in addition to the returning South Sudanese refugees who were residing in Sudan.
He stated that the United Nations brings about 70,000 basic relief items from its global stocks to Chad and Sudan.
In Egypt, the spokesman said that the UNHCR and other United Nations agencies are carrying out a mission to assess the needs of those coming from Sudan.
The United Nations and the Egyptian Red Crescent are also providing water, food, wheelchairs, hygiene and sanitation kits for the new arrivals.
UNHCR plans to launch an inter-agency regional plan to respond to the needs of refugees