Sudan: Medical commission closes doors for lack of yellow fever serum

Sudan’s medical commission will close the doors of all branches effective tomorrow due to the interruption of the medical supplies of yellow fever serum.

Dr Mohamed Saad Hashim, the deputy director of medical commission announced stopping work at all branches of the commission as of Thursday.

Today, the National Medicines and Toxins Council issued a circular urging manufacturers and importers of human medicines and medical supplies not to sell pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to government institutions except to the national fund for medical supplies

Austerity measures

The government has announced a number of austerity measures, notably stopping the appointment of government employees and the travel of state employees abroad without the permission of the Cabinet.

The Ministry of Finance has decided to stop the appointment of government employees without specifying the duration of the decision, as well as ending the service of those who have completed the age of 65 years in government agencies and companies.

In another decision, the Minister of Finance conditioned the approval of the Cabinet for the travel of employees of governmental bodies and companies abroad.

Dollar rate

In early January, the Sudanese government raised the customs rate of the US Dollar from SDG 6.7 to an indicative SDG 18, in a bid to halt the to halt the plummeting Pound on the black market. Prices of imported goods like wheat and medicines doubled, and in some cases, even tripled.

Because of the scarcity of hard currency at the banks, medicines importing companies have to buy their Dollars from the black market at a price which is about double the new customs rate.

Dozens of pharmacists in Khartoum embarked on a strike in end January in protest against reduced medicine prices set by the Medicines and Toxics Council. “The government now wants to oblige us to sell medicines at prices cheaper than the purchase prices,” a pharmacist told this station at the time.

The Bank of Sudan raised the indicative rate of the US Dollar again on February 5, from SDG 18 to SDG 30.