Townships near Sudan’s capital lack basic services

The people living in the outermost parts of Omdurman, the sister-city of Khartoum, are lacking basic services, such as health care, water and electricity supplies, and secondary education facilities.

Thousands of poor residents of the five El Fatah neighbourhoods, mostly populated by displaced from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan and Darfur, and Hamadab, El Ikhlas, El Ameriya, Teibat El Khalawi, El Sadaga, El Mansouri, El Khalifab, and El Galeea districts do not have access to basic services, a resident of El Fatah II told Radio Dabanga.

“Owing to the lack of water pipes, we pay SDG12 ($2) for a barrel of water from the wells found in Omdurman. This water is quite salty, and can lead to kidney failure,” he said. “Furthermore, many women die during childbirth because of the absence of hospitals and health centres in the neighbourhood.

“There is also no electricity supply,” he added. “We have to make do with torches at night.

“Besides, most of the children who finished basic school are not able to continue their studies because of the absence of secondary schools in the area and the lack of affordable transportation.”