WHO: Health workers targeted in Sudan

World
Europe

The World Health Organsation (WHO) has condemned recent violence in Sudan, which has reportedly targeted people in need, health workers and medical facilities.

This comes in the wake of a brutal military crackdown on protesters in the capital of Khartoum earlier this week, with at least 108 people killed and more than 500 wounded, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD).

Meanwhile, a health ministry official was quoted as saying the death toll stood at 61.

According to WHO, incursions into hospitals in Sudan's capital of Khartoum have resulted in emergency services being shut down and the unwarranted transfer of patients.

The international health organisation also reported health care workers being assaulted, including the rape of female health workers.

Additionally, mobile health tent clinics, which were set up to treat injured protestors, have been set on fire and destroyed and medical equipment looted.

“These actions represent a total and unacceptable violation of international human rights law and must stop,” WHO said in a statement released Friday. “Health workers must be allowed to treat the injured and sick, without concern for their own safety or that of their patients.”

The WHO, together with the Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan, has been operating to ensure hospitals remain operational and that essential medicines are brought into the country in a timely manner.

Nine trucks carrying WHO medical supplies have reportedly arrived in Khartoum and priority states for distribution to hospitals and health facilities.

In response to the current crackdown, AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat on Monday called for an “immediate and transparent investigation in order to hold all those responsible accountable”.The European Union endorsed the AU's decision, saying it “establishes clear criteria for the restoration of a peaceful and credible political process” in Sudan.