GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the National Institute of Public Health, which stores dangerous pathogens such as measles and cholera, was occupied in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan in northeastern Africa. , warned that there is a “high biohazard risk” of pathogens leaking out. It said it had been occupied by either the fighting Sudanese regular army or the paramilitary Readiness Support Force (RSF).
WHO’s Nima Saeed Abid told reporters in Geneva via video from Sudan: “The main concern is the inability of laboratory experts to safely secure biomaterials and drugs that could be used. ” he pointed out. He declined to specify which side had occupied the lab.
At least 459 people were killed and 4,072 wounded, according to the latest WHO data, after the fighting broke out on 15th of this month.
Essential services such as hospitals have been paralyzed, food and water supplies have dwindled, and many are stranded at home.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been forced to reduce its activities in parts of Sudan due to escalating fighting.
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2023-04-25 13:48:00
