September 18, Port Sudan — Over three million children under five in Sudan are at high risk of epidemic diseases, including measles, malaria, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases, and cholera, the United Nations Children’s Fund said on Tuesday.
In a statement, UNICEF also aid that between 22 July and 15 September, 8,457 cases and 299 deaths were reported across eight states in Sudan.
“We are racing against time,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Sudan. “With heavy rains and flooding, diseases can spread more rapidly and severely worsen the outlook for the children in the affected states and beyond.”
UNICEF said that it is implementing a multi-sectoral response in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization to control the cholera outbreak in the affected states and limit the spread of the disease. This includes a cholera vaccination campaign, which will first cover Kassala State.
The statement also noted that more than 70 percent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are out of service, and frontline workers, including nurses and doctors, have not been paid for months.