Severe Shortages of Food and Medicine in Sudanese Refugee Camps in Chad

Moatinoon
A Sudanese refugee at the Sudanese-Chadian border, who preferred to remain anonymous, revealed the extent of suffering in the refugee camps there. In a special statement to Citizens, he mentioned that the last food supplies they received were in June of the past year. He added that they are surviving on assistance from locals in the area.

The Chadian news site Al-Sabah Info confirmed that the acute shortage of medicines for chronic diseases has resulted in numerous deaths in Sudanese refugee camps. About 80% of kidney patients dependent on dialysis and insulin-dependent diabetes patients have passed away. Many patients with heart and chronic diseases have also perished since the events began in the city of Geneina and their arrival at the refugee camps in eastern Chad.

Dr. Kamal Ibrahim Yahya, a volunteer at a treatment center in the temporary Adré camp and a member of the Sudanese Doctors Initiative Save Geneina, stated that the camp is suffering from a shortage of all types of life-saving medications. There are five clinics in the camp, three of which are mobile. The clinics lack many essential equipment such as laboratories and other diagnostic devices, which are only available at the regional hospital in Adré.

Dr. Kamal Ibrahim Yahya revealed that the groups most frequenting the available health centers are malnourished children with associated complications, women, and patients with chronic diseases. He pointed out the urgent need for medicines for seasonal diseases like malaria and diarrhea, as well as medications for chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, both UN agencies, have warned about the dire situation of Sudanese refugees in the eastern Chad camps.