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Sudan + 1 more

Sudan: Humanitarian Bulletin | Issue 14 | 5 – 18 June 2017 [EN/AR]

Attachments

HIGHLIGHTS

• WHO, UNICEF and others are supporting Federal Ministry of Health in responding to acute watery diarrhea cases across Sudan.

• Aid organisations are mobilising resources to meet the needs of the new IDPs in Um Dukhun town, Central Darfur.

• Sudan Humanitarian Fund allocates $1 million for IDPs and refugees in El Lait, North Darfur.

• A recent survey conducted in the Jebel Marra area has identified critical levels of acute malnutrition.

Response to acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)

According to the latest information from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO), between mid-August 2016 and 9 June 2017 about 16,600 suspected cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) were reported in Sudan, including 317 deaths (case fatality ratio is 1.9 per cent).

Overall 79 localities in 12 states are affected, including Kassala, Blue Nile, River Nile, Gezira, Sennar, Khartoum, Gedarif, Red Sea, Northern, White Nile, South Kordofan, and North Kordofan. The outbreak is currently active in Gedarif, White Nile, Khartoum, Sennar, Nile River, North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Gezira states.

The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) report that the National Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) Preparedness and Response Plan for 2017-2018 was endorsed and signed by FMoH and distributed to all health partners.

The active AWD response has been scaled up by Prime Minister and Federal Minister of Health through engaging all sectors, civil society and national NGOs, including media, with support from WHO, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) to implement interventions such as ensuring safe water, early detection, case management, health education and sanitation.

WHO has deployed a national epidemiologist to follow-up on the AWD outbreak in Khartoum. Four main hospitals in Khartoum were visited jointly by FMoH and WHO to identify immediate gaps and address health service provision through treatment centres. Medicine and medical supplies sufficient for 400 severe cases were delivered by WHO to Benjadid Community Therapeutic Care centre in Khartoum during the reporting period.

WHO supported the State Ministry of Health (SMoH) in White Nile State by providing operational costs for 10 treatment centres for one month, and 625 water quality testing missions will be undertaken in nine affected localities. WHO and FMoH are planning to launch community-based actions in order to enhance self-reliance of the affected communities and ensure the prevention of AWD in a more sustainable manner. A pilot training on community-based actions will be launched in White Nile from 21-22 June in Rabak and Kosti localities. In addition, WHO has launched an early warning alert and response system in camps hosting South Sudanese refugees to quickly identify potential outbreaks and any other health threats, and provide an effective and rapid response.

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