Port Sudan: Fuel crisis deepens healthcare woes
War forced kidney patients to travel to Kosti in White Nile state for dialysis treatment, May 2023 (File photo: SUNA)
Port Sudan’s faltering healthcare system confronted a crisis earlier this week with the death of a 36-year-old kidney failure patient, a result of a power outage due to insufficient fuel for the generator providing electricity to the dialysis centre.
Musa Takrawi, a patient at Port Sudan’s dialysis centre, mourned the loss while attributing the “growing fuel crisis and the shortage of dialysis solutions” as the primary concerns afflicting fellow patients undergoing treatment.
Compounded with the scarcity of essential medical supplies required to provide adequate care for over 360 patients, among whom at least 100 have been uprooted from Khartoum due to the destructive clashes that ravaged the capital’s healthcare infrastructure, the staff at the centre are yet to receive their salaries, according to Takrawi.
He told Radio Dabanga this concern is particularly pressing, considering the pivotal presence of the “entire federal government in Port Sudan,” underscoring the urgency of addressing the situation promptly.
Takrawi states that despite a recent joint-aid initiative from Qatar and Turkey to Port Sudan’s dialysis centre, the region is in dire need of a sustainable solution to strengthen its fragile healthcare infrastructure.
Qatar-Turkey aid
Through a joint humanitarian effort between Turkey and Qatar, two Turkish planes delivered Qatari aid, supplying essential cancer drugs and kidney dialysis provisions, to Port Sudan’s airport yesterday.
As part of the initiative comprising of Qatar Charity, the Turkish Bounties Endowment, and the Turkish Ministry of Health, they plan to deliver a total of 62 tons of medical aid. Their efforts are projected to facilitate 20,000 kidney dialysis sessions, catering to an estimated 8,000 patients.
Sudan’s Federal Minister of Health, Dr Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, expressed gratitude to Qatar and Turkey for this essential support, underscoring the significance of the cancer drugs’ arrival, particularly in light of their scarcity resulting from the ongoing conflict.
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