Nyala hospital manager: no foul play behind rise in infant deaths
The manager of South Darfur’s main hospital said that fever is not the cause behind the rise of the infant mortality rate at Nyala hospital. He was responding to newspaper reports of a suspicious rise in the number of children dying at the hospital. Dr. Mubarak Abdelrahman, manager of the Nyala hospital, said that the statistics kept at the hospital show that 23 children died in March of this year, including 7 who were newborns. During the month of April, 42 children died, 29 of whom were very young. In the current month, there are not yet complete statistics but at least 14 infants have died. Abdelrahman told Radio Dabanga that these figures are normal.
The manager of South Darfur’s main hospital said that fever is not the cause behind the rise of the infant mortality rate at Nyala hospital. He was responding to newspaper reports of a suspicious rise in the number of children dying at the hospital. Dr. Mubarak Abdelrahman, manager of the Nyala hospital, said that the statistics kept at the hospital show that 23 children died in March of this year, including 7 who were newborns. During the month of April, 42 children died, 29 of whom were very young. In the current month, there are not yet complete statistics but at least 14 infants have died. Abdelrahman told Radio Dabanga that these figures are normal. He added that the hospital lacks equipment and personnel. It has no special department for newborn children. Abdelrahman further urged the federal health ministry to assist the hospital. According to the hospital official, South Darfur State has the highest infant mortality rate of the three states of Darfur. The hospital handles many referrals from the camps of displaced people that surround the city. Radio Dabanga called federal Minister of Health Tabitha Boudros but she refused to give a comment at this time.
(Photo by Doug Mercado, Enough Project. Women and a child at an IDP camp outside Nyala.)
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