AFRICA/SUDAN - SMS to help build hospital Turalei, in Africa’s most difficult port-war situation

Thursday, 4 January 2007

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - In Turalei, southern Sudan, not without difficulty, the Missionaries of Charity, sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta run a small medical dispensary with the help of a few volunteer doctors members of an Italian NGO Comitato Collaborazione Medica (CCM) (http://www.ccm-italia.org/sudan.php).
The dispensary is too small to deal with all the health needs in the area and ARES humanitarian organisation and CCM plan to expand the dispensary into a hospital centre with 1,100 sq mt., of new buildings, of which 450 sq met are almost ready.
This is the only medical centre within 120km to serve about a continually growing population (around 400,000) consisting mainly of returning civil war refugees and displaced persons from nearby Darfur.
Anyone willing to help build the new Turalei hospital can make a donation of 1 Euro with an SMS to number 48588 until 15 January 2007.
The health situation in Sudan is poor everywhere. The scarcity of health care affects mainly the most vulnerable, the women and children: the infant mortality rate under five is 250/1000, however the ratio is higher among the refugees. With regard to mothers dying during childbirth, the rate is 1,700/100,000. The main causes of death among children are malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory infections.
The epidemiological profile of Sudan is typical of sub-Saharan Africa. Sudan registers about 80% of the cases of Guinea Worm. Leishmaniosis and sleeping sickness are endemic in many parts of the country and 30 epidemics have been registered in the past. The presence of HIV/AIDS is still relatively low but on the increase, with 1-2% of the population HIV+, but a much higher percentage (10%) in groups at risk. Sudan is particularly vulnerable to epidemics.
Another relevant problem is Food Security which has deteriorated in southern Sudan. In some areas the situation is made worse by drought which kills animals, the people’s only source of sustenance. (AP) (4/1/2007 Agenzia Fides; Righe:37; Parole: 459)


Share: