A joint delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) launched a grant of medical equipment on Monday for 80 health centers across Sudan, as part of continuing efforts to support the country’s health sector amid its ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The launch ceremony was attended by Sudan’s Minister of Health, Dr. Haitham Mohammad Ibrahim, and several Ministry of Health officials.
The delegation also visited the Ahmed Gasim Hospital for Heart Diseases, Surgery and Kidney Transplantation, where the hospital’s director briefed them on the services it provides and the most pressing needs and challenges facing the hospital and its medical staff under current circumstances.
Dr. Asiha Al-Ayafi, Director of Humanitarian Department at the OIC General Secretariat and head of the delegation, said the grant embodies the commitment of the OIC and the ISF to supporting Sudan’s health sector and standing with the Sudanese people amid the humanitarian challenges facing the country.
She said the equipment would help improve the standard of health services, enhance the efficiency of the beneficiary centers, and strengthen their capacity to respond to medical needs, erasing the suffering of patients and improving their access to healthcare.
Al-Ayafi conveyed the appreciation of the OIC Secretary-General for the ongoing cooperation between the OIC and its partners in the humanitarian and health fields, and noted that the OIC continues to work with partners including the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to address the further health needs, confirming that additional medical aid and supplies are due to arrive in Sudan shortly.
Sudanese officials thanked the OIC and the ISF for their support, stressing the importance of the assistance in strengthening health facilities and expressing appreciation for the continued backing of the Organization, its member states and partners.
The grant comes as Sudan’s health system continues to buckle under the weight of the country’s ongoing conflict, now in its third year.
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has devastated infrastructures nationwide, with the World Health Organization reporting that fewer than a quarter of the country’s health facilities remain fully functional, while repeated cholera outbreaks and acute malnutrition have compounded the crisis facing millions of displaced Sudanese.
With additional medical aid already in the pipeline, Monday’s grants reflects the OIC’s continued effort to keep humanitarian support flowing into Sudan’s badly strained health sector, even as the scale of need, described by international agencies as one of the world’s worst ongoing crisis, continues to far out space what individual aid deliveries can address.
