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STORY: WHO / SUDAN TEDROS VISIT
TRT: 04:10
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 08 SEPTEMBER 2024, PORT SUDAN, SUDAN / RECENT
07 SEPTEMBER 2024, PORT SUDAN, SUDAN
1. Various shots, the Director-General meeting health workers and talking to patients at the Nutrition Stabilization Centre at the Pediatric Hospital
08 SEPTEMBER 2024, PORT SUDAN, SUDAN
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“The international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan and is paying little heed to the conflict, tearing it apart with repercussions in the region.”
07 SEPTEMBER 2024, PORT SUDAN, SUDAN
3. Med shot, women and children on a hospital bed at the Nutrition Stabilization Centre at the Pediatric Hospital
4. Med shot, Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Director talking to women sitting on a hospital bed
5. Med shot, Director-General listening to a woman’s story via interpretation and listening to health workers in discussion
08 SEPTEMBER 2024, PORT SUDAN, SUDAN
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Sudan’s conflict has so far killed more than 20,000 people. This is an underestimate, by the way. Displaced over 10 million people inside the country and forced another 2 million to flee to neighboring countries. This is the largest internal displacement of people in the world today.”
7. Wide shot, UNICEF tent, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Gathering point, Shagya area
8. Med shot, Director-General and entourage walking through the IDP camp
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“The conflict has left some 25 million people, more than half of the country's population, in dire need of humanitarian aid. Of this, 14.7 million require urgent assistance for a range of life saving support for which the humanitarian sector has requested $2.7 billion, which is less than half funded. But we must focus on all people in need. All 25 million people, and this means additional resources are required to meet their needs. And we are calling on the world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it's living through. “
10. Various shots, water containers waiting to be filled, a hosepipe filling some containers
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“I believe in a saying that if there is a will, there is a way. And for all parties, there will be a way to bring a political and lasting solution. War brings only destruction. And you have seen all the evil coming after the war started. War brings famine. War brings displacement. Ten million…Twelve million people have been displaced internally and externally. War brings diseases, long forgotten diseases, by the way. And even more difficult, war brings atrocities on women, especially gender-based violence. Rape. And I don't see any advantage of war except destruction and all the problems that I have outlined. That's why it's good to realize how this war is impacting this beautiful country. And I hope all parties will choose peace and a lasting political solution.”
12. Various shots of the DG listening to the stories of IDPs
“The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
Speaking to reporters from the Red Sea City of Port Sudan, Dr. Tedros said the conflict had so far killed more than 20 000 people – thought that number is likely higher – and sparked the world’s largest internal displacement crisis, displacing over 10 million people inside the country, and forcing another two million to flee to neighboring countries.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Following 500 days of fighting, in addition to the mounting death toll and soaring numbers of internally displaced people, catastrophic seasonal floods have further harmed vital infrastructure, disease outbreaks such as cholera and malaria are on the rise, numerous cases of conflict-related sexual violence have been reported, and famine is occurring in some areas of the country.
As he wrapped up his two-day visit, Dr. Tedros stated, “25.6 million people – over half of Sudan’s population – are expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity.” He also noted that 70 to 80 percent of the country’s health facilities are not operating at full capacity.
Despite these sobering statistics, and WHO’s sounding the alarm since the conflict began while working with partners to meet some of the challenges, “the international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan and is paying little heed to the conflict tearing it apart, with repercussions in the region,” said Dr. Tedros.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director-General's press conference in Port Sudan. on the right, Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Director.
“The conflict has left some 25 million people…in dire need of humanitarian aid. Of these, 14.7 million require urgent assistance for a range of life-saving support, for which the humanitarian sector has requested $2.7 billion dollars, which is less than half funded.”
He called for a range of actions that could save millions of lives: protection of health facilities, health workers and patients – health should not be targeted; sustained access to deliver supplies and aid; scaled-up disease surveillance and vaccination coverage; and “a massive increase in finances from the international community to scale up the response.”
“We are calling on the world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it is living through,” the UN health chief declared and said an immediate ceasefire is needed, leading to a lasting political solution.
“The best medicine is peace,” he added.
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