Report by NGOs also finds healthcare system largely not functioning in Khartoum, months after city recaptured by army.Ninety-seven percent of households in Sudan’s capital are facing food shortages, and the healthcare system has largely collapsed across the city, according to an assessment that reveals the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe gripping the war-torn country.The report, released this week by the humanitarian organisations Medical Teams International and Norwegian Church Aid, found that three-quarters of families in Khartoum consume fewer than 1,800 calories daily.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIt surveyed more than 1,250 families and 70 healthcare facilities across Khartoum between August and September, revealing that 97 percent of households face food shortages.“The need for humanitarian assistance in Khartoum is urgent,” said Dirk Hanekom, Norwegian Church Aid’s country director in Sudan, warning that if conditions are this severe in the capital, remote areas in conflict zones likely face an even graver situation.Khartoum has been devastated by fighting between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.The assessment found only 43 percent of the capital’s health facilities remain functional, while just 14 percent of women can access safe childbirth services. Most facilities lack essential medicines, with 70 percent reporting having no antibiotics available.Medical Teams International’s country director Birhanu Waka said the new data should guide efforts to restore health systems amid what he called “unimaginable hardship”.The military recaptured Khartoum from the RSF in March, and the capital’s airport reopened for domestic flights in October. Advertisement The RSF still controls large areas of western Sudan, including all of Darfur, after they seized the city of el-Fasher in late October.In the contes …
