The Sudanese Minister of Health, Bahar Idris Abugarda, announced Sudan to be clear of the acute watery diarrhoea epidemic. His ministry completed all arrangements to declare Sudan free of the disease.

Abugarda said on Wednesday, during a visit to North Darfur, that North Darfur has not seen any cases of diarrhoeal disease “for a month”. A wave of the epidemic, by the Sudanese government referred to as acute watery diarrhoea instead of cholera, has hit parts of the country since late last year.

Farmers in New Halfa, in Kassala state, have warned against the failure of the winter season wheat crops because of irrigation and pest problems and the low prices offered by the Sudanese Agricultural Bank.

Farmer Yasser Shaheen told Radio Dabanga: “Irrigation fees have risen from 850 ($127) to 1,250 ($186*) Sudanese pounds, while the price of fertiliser has increased from 280 to 480 pounds and the price of urea has increased from 235 to 325 pounds.”

The security authorities in North Darfur announced that a number of unmanned aircraft equipped with cameras have been brought-in to monitor and detect caches of weapons hidden underground, and to coordinate and engage in the framework of the implementation of weapons collection.

The Commissioner of El Fasher locality, El Tijani Abdallah Saleh, confirmed that his locality will deal “with all force and deterrence with anyone driving an unlicensed vehicle in El Fasher.

East Darfur has seen a surge in malaria cases. The hospital in the state capital receives between 50 to 70 cases each day.

On Monday, a medical source at Ed Daein Hospital told Radio Dabanga that 50 to 70 new malaria victims visit the hospital on a daily basis. “Let alone the number of malaria patients in other clinics in the state.”

A doctor at the Ed Daein emergency department reported that the there are cases of normal type malaria, in addition to cases of cerebral malaria that affects the brain. “Of this type we receive between 10 to 12 cases a day.”

The number of South Sudanese refugees in East Darfur now exceeds 110,000, and the flow is expected to increase, according to Ibrahim Musa Ali, the Humanitarian Aid Commissioner for East Darfur.

In a press statement last week, Commissioner Ali says that the Government of East Darfur has taken tight security and health measures at the crossing points used by South Sudanese refugees as the flow is expected to increase in conjunction with the harvest season.