Lack of drinking water, aid in Sudan’s Red Sea

Living conditions have deteriorated in Tokar, Red Sea State, owing to a lack of food and drinking water.

An activist in south Tokar, Idris Mohamed Ali, told Radio Dabanga that most of the drinking water from the wells in the area are mixed with water that holds calcareous materials. “This has probably led to the emergence of kidney diseases and malnutrition among the population.

“There is a shortage of doctors and health centres in Tokar,” he said. The government has expelled the aid organisations that used to distribute relief items, further complicating the daily lives of the poor people.

The opposition party Beja Congress already reported the shortage of drinking water in Port Sudan, the capital of Red Sea, accusing the government of undermining the water transportation from the Nile river to the state.

Eastern Sudanese have repeatedly complained of marginalisation by the central government. Their region, inhabited mainly by the Beja and Rashaida tribes, is among the poorest in Sudan.

Price hikes in Kassala

Meanwhile, prices of consumer goods have increased in an unprecedented manner Kassala in Kassala State. People pay more for flour, sugar, and transportation costs.