A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Sudanese Ministry of Health and the Spanish Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to provide and operate a mobile epidemiological laboratory and to provide diagnostic tests and logistics.
The Sudanese Ministry of Health said the memorandum is to enhance cooperation between the two parties, bridge gaps, and expand the scope of diagnostic services for epidemics and epidemic diseases. This gap is to fill the needs in these fields, especially in light of the discontinuation of the National Laboratory for Medical Analysis “Stack” in Khartoum due to the war.
The fighting that erupted on April 15 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) left heavy losses in the infrastructure, as most hospitals went out of service, whether in Khartoum or the western Darfur region. The fighting in these two regions intensified remarkably, resulting in the destruction of health facilities. The country is facing a severe crisis in the availability of medicines and medical consumables.
According to the information of the Ministry of Health, the memorandum was signed today at the office of the Minister of Health in Port Sudan, Red Sea State. Minister Haitham Muhammad Ibrahim signed on behalf of the ministry, and the director of operations for East Africa, Abu Bakr Bashir Bakri signed on behalf of the organization.
Haitham explained that the memorandum stipulated joint cooperation between the two sides. That consists of the organization’s commitment to providing and operating the Mobile Outbreak Laboratory, providing diagnostic tests, and handling logistical aspects, while the Ministry of Health committed itself to supervising, coordinating, and governing.
The memorandum also included the competence of the mobile epidemiology laboratory in its first phase to examine suspected epidemiological samples for measles, chikungunya, rubella, dengue fever, and whooping cough.
MSF teams are providing medical care and donating essential supplies where possible; however, ongoing violence and other restrictions are blocking aid efforts. More than two million people have been forced from their homes by this surge of violence, including more than half a million who have crossed into neighboring countries, according to the UN migration agency.
The organization’s teams are providing lifesaving medical care and supporting health facilities that are struggling with overwhelming medical needs in Khartoum, Darfur, and other areas of the country that are affected by the conflict.
