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DARFUR. – Mothers and children in the Sudanese region of South Darfur are experiencing one of the “worst” health emergencies in the world, humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders alerted yesterday.

This is one of the consequences of the war that has engulfed the country since April 2023.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, said in its latest report that 114 maternal deaths occurred between January and mid-August 2024.

Over 50 percent of maternal deaths happened in medical settings, with sepsis being the most common cause of death in MSF-supported facilities.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that happens when the body’s immune system has an extreme response to an infection, causing organ dysfunction.

Between January and June, 48 newborns died from sepsis at two MSF-backed medical facilities. In August, 30 000 children under the age of two were screened for malnutrition, including nearly 33 percent who are acutely malnourished and 8,1 percent who are severely and acutely malnourished, MSF said yesterday.

“This is a crisis unlike any other I have seen in my career, multiple health emergencies happening simultaneously with almost no international response from the UN and others.

“Newborn babies, pregnant women, and new mothers are dying in shocking numbers,” said Dr Gillian Burkhardt, MSF sexual and reproductive health activity manager, in Nyala, South Darfur.

The situation is dire for women at Nyala Teaching Hospital and Kas Rural Hospital, where MSF reported 46 maternal deaths between January and August.

In those two hospitals, 78 percent of maternal deaths happened within the first 24 hours after admission.

Most humanitarian organizations haven’t returned to the capital of South Darfur Nyala which is Sudan’s second largest city outside of the Khartoum area.  –  Africanews.com