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Sudan Situation Report, 13 Aug 2020 [EN/AR]

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • Humanitarian needs are rapidly increasing in Sudan, as the country faces multiple shocks, including the economic crisis, recent floods, violence and disease outbreaks.
  • The Government declared an outbreak of vaccine-derived poliovirus on 9 August. Over 5.2 million children under age 5 live in the nine affected states and will require vaccination.
  • COVID-19 transmissions also continue and over 12,000 people have contracted the virus to date.
  • Violence in several parts, including recent clashes in Port Sudan, Red Sea State, and flooding affecting nearly 185,000 people are driving further displacement and increased needs.
  • Aid organizations are also assisting millions of people across Sudan in a monthly basis, despite the challenges.

The country continue to face the health and humanitarian consequences of COVID-19

  • First case: 13 March 2020

  • Total cases: 12,546 (as of 17 August 2020)

  • Total deaths: 808

  • States affected: All 18 states

  • Schools: Closed (8,375,193 learners affected).

  • Borders/flights: The Khartoum airport is partially opened since 20 July, and is gradually resuming international and national flights.

  • Containment measures: On 7 July, the High Committee for Health Emergencies announced the ease of lockdown restrictions in Khartoum State. The curfew is still in place, with movements now restricted from 6:00 p.m to 5:00 a.m. Bridges connecting Khartoum with Omdurman and North Khartoum are opened out of the curfew hours and transportation is allowed during this period. Movements in and out of Khartoum are not allowed. Some states in Darfur Region have closed borders and have imposed curfews to limit the movement of people. Government institutions resumed work on 12 July, with reduced scheduled and number of employees, to reduce congestion in the workplace. All staff must wear face masks and workplaces are to be sanitized regularly.

Situation

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan in mid-March, the Government confirmed that 12,115 people contracted the virus, including 792 who died from the disease, as of 11 August. The increasing number of transmissions continues to pose pressure on the country's fragile health system, according to humanitarian partners. All 18 states have reported cases, with Khartoum, El Gezira, and Gedaref states amongst the hardest-hit. Although Khartoum State accounts for about 70 per cent of all reported cases in the country, over 60 per cent of all COVID-19-related deaths have been reported from outside the capital. Some states have extremely high case fatality rates if compared with global trends, including North Darfur (30 per cent of people with COVID-19 died), Central Darfur (33 per cent), Red Sea (nearly 20 per cent), El Gezira (15 per cent). This could imply that a number of infections are not being diagnosed.

Sudan's health system was under extreme stress prior to the pandemic and has been further stretched to prevent, contain and treat COVID-19. Approximately 81 per cent of the population do not have access to a functional health centre within two hours of their home and the situation is getting worse, as many clinics are closing during the pandemic. In Khartoum State alone, nearly half of the health centres closed during the pandemic, and Darfur had already closed a quarter of their facilities in 2018 due to lack of funds and staff. Sudan has only 184 beds in intensive care units (ICU) and approximately 160 of them have ventilators, according to WHO. Only four ICU doctors---three in Khartoum and one and Gezira State---, are prepared to deal with patients infected with the virus, according to WHO.

Across Sudan, clinics and hospitals lack critical medicines, as they can no longer afford to stock them due to the economic crisis and also due to disruption in the supply chains. The situation makes it extremely challenging for the Government and aid organizations to respond to the pandemic and maintain essential services. Women and children have been especially affected. Maternal health clinics have closed, reproductive health services have been interrupted and over 110,000 children are missing out essential vaccines. Prevention to COVID-19 is also a challenge in Sudan, as 63 per cent of the population do not have access to basic sanitation, 23 percent do not have access to a hand-washing facility with soap and water and 40 per cent do not have access to basic drinking water services. The risk of transmissions and increased humanitarian needs are especially high amongst the nearly 2 million internally displaced people (IDP) and 1.1 million refugees living in collective sites or host communities across the country and the population living in urban slums.

COVID-19 is having direct and indirect impacts on food access in Sudan, according to the latest food security alert report from FEWS NET. Some families lost their incomes at a time where they also face higher living costs, including due to increasing medical costs related to the pandemic, as well as the ongoing economic crisis. The necessary COVID-19-related containment measures have also indirect negative impacts, limiting many poor households' physical access to areas where they typically earn income from daily labour.

According to FEWS NET, the closure of gold mining sites and limitations on transport between cities have reduced income from migratory labour and remittances. Until recently, the curfew and partial closure of bridges in Khartoum have also limited people from reaching parts of the city where construction labour and petty trade are common. The cancelation of the Hajj---the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca---and closure of borders is reportedly also leading to sharp declines in income from livestock and fish exports to Saudi Arabia, according to FEWS NET. As a result, poor households that depend on labour are suffering the humanitarian consequences of the pandemic, especially in Khartoum and other urban areas, such as Port Sudan.

Before COVID-19, about 9.3 million people were already in need of humanitarian support across Sudan. Years of conflict, recurrent climatic shocks and disease outbreaks continue to affect the lives and livelihoods of many Sudanese. The situation is worsening and now over 9.6 million people are facing severe hunger, in a country with already high malnutrition rates. Because of the fragile economy, more and more people are unable to meet their basic needs, as high inflation continues to erode families' purchasing power. An average local food basket takes up at least 75 per cent of household income.

Response

  • The Federal Government, the United Nations and humanitarian partners have jointed efforts to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan. A COVID-19 Country Preparedness and Response Plan (CPRP), organized around nine pillars, is currently being implemented by UN agencies, NGOs and other partners in support to the Sudanese Government-led response.

  • Aid actors are establishing quarantine or isolation spaces and shelters, providing the country with COVID-19 testing kits and setting up water points and handwashing stations in IDP and refugee camps and in host communities. Over 1,600 health workers and rapid response teams in at least 277 localities across Sudan have been trained, hygiene kits distributed to nearly 500,000 people and protective equipment to attend the needs of 6,000 health centres in the country. Over 25 million people have been reached with campaigns to raise awareness to prevent transmissions and at least 2.8 million people were reached with food assistance in May.

  • The Transitional Government initiated the Family Support Programme, with support of the World Food Programme (WFP), to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19-related restrictions on vulnerable families. The programme will provide 600,000 families---about 36 million people, nearly 80 per cent of the population---with US$5 per person per month.

  • An estimated $582 million was pledged by donors for this programme during the Sudan Partnerships Conference that took place in Berlin on 25 June.

  • The UN and its partners launched on 19 July the COVID-19 addendum to the Humanitarian Response plan, a US$283 million appeal to address the most immediate and critical needs of millions of Sudanese people affected by the health and humanitarian consequences of COVID-19.

Official sources:

Sudan Federal Ministry of Health

WHO Sudan Twitter

Other sources:

COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response, by UNESCO

COVID-19 World Travel Restrictions, by the Emergency Division of the World Food Programme (WFP)

Global COVID-19 Airport Status, by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.