Khartoum: Altaghyeer

Al-Jeraif neighborhood of Shurg al-Neel Locality, Khartoum State, registered 100 cases of night blindness resulted from starvation-related vitamin A deficiency, said member of the youth voluntary Emergency Room, Hind al-Taayf.

She said the cases are expected to be higher as communication outage hampers reporting in many areas.

The patients include children, elders and people with chronic diseases.

Al-Taayf told Radio Tamazuj that al-Ban Jadeed and Omdawan Ban Hospitals in the Locality receive 800-1000 and 50-80 malnourished children per month respectively.

The two hospitals addition to about 7 health centres are the only operating medical facilities in Shurg al-Neel Locality which spans an area of  8188 square km, she said.

She indicated that medicines are provided by importers at high prices due to transport difficulties.

There is only one NGO working in al-Ban Jadeed Hospital and it provides logistical support only, she said, indicating that the hospitals are in need of vitamins, nutritional supplements and pediatric scales.

Al-Taayf said 95 out of 157 voluntary Communal Kitchens in Shurg al-Neel Locality have stopped working due to fund shortage.