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SENNAR - 20 Mar 2013

Poor sanitation & no malaria drugs in Sennar state hospital

Sennar hospital is currently suffering from a “terrible health situation” amidst poor sanitation and an absence of malaria drugs, claimed one of the doctors working there.

In a phone interview with Radio Tamazuj, the source claimed that the outpatient department does not have enough beds and the sanitation situation is deteriorating as people urinate and defecate near the operating room because of a lack of toilets.

He added that malaria, schistosomiasis and tuberculosis are the most commonly diagnosed cases that the hospital receivesalthough two cases of hemorrhagic fever have been reported, compounded by a lack of medication.

The hospital itself is reported as providing a breeding ground for the spread of disease, as the source added, “TB spreads among patients within the hospital.”

Receiving 25 cases of schistosomiasis each week, hospital staff have attributed its spread to the poor hygiene awareness amongst patients, calling for construction of additional buildings and toilet facilities.

Authorities have apparently stopped providing the hospital with anti-malaria drugs under the claim that malaria has been eradicated from Sennar state. 

“There are no anti-malaria drugs in the state.  Even though there are people who have malaria,the results should be negative because, according to the authorities, the state is free from malaria,” the doctor added.

The authorities’ claim is seemingly in response to a previous campaign alongside funding received in order to eradicate malaria in Sennar state.

Radio Tamazuj has not been able to verify these claims independently.

Photo by Tamazuj: Girls visit a patient at Pariang Hospital, early July 2012.

See also: Outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever in Sennar state hospital (15 March 2013)