At least 55 people, including 39 children, have died from malaria in Sudan’s West Darfur state over the past three weeks, as a sharp increase in infections overwhelms health facilities in the state capital, El Geneina.
Dr Al-Shafie Saleh Younis, medical director of El Geneina Hospital, said 39 children and 16 adults were among the reported fatalities, according to local Sudanese media.
Younis described the current outbreak as particularly severe, saying the number of patients seeking treatment had risen dramatically and placed growing pressure on already strained hospital services.
More than 500 patients are now attending the hospital daily, with over 75 requiring admission, he said.
Hospital administrators have opened additional wards to accommodate the influx, while medical teams are struggling with shortages of essential supplies, particularly medicines used to treat malaria.
Younis appealed to international health organisations for urgent assistance, warning that inadequate medical supplies could further undermine the response.
He also urged greater support for health centres in outlying communities, saying improved access to medicines outside El Geneina would help reduce pressure on the city’s main hospital.
Authorities in West Darfur have meanwhile launched a three-day campaign targeting mosquitoes and other disease vectors, focusing on displacement shelters in El Geneina and surrounding areas.
The campaign aims to slow transmission and reduce pressure on healthcare facilities, although officials acknowledged that insecticide supplies remain limited.
