KHARTOUM, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Sitting quietly in a corner of Golo Hospital in Sudan's Central Darfur State, Fatima Ishaq keeps her eyes fixed on her nine-year-old son, who lies on a simple bed. A rash covers much of his body, and a high fever has persisted for days since he contracted measles.
Holding his hand, she gently wipes his forehead with a damp cloth, powerless against an illness that struck a week earlier in a region already grappling with severe shortages of healthcare services.
The boy is among dozens of recent measles cases reported across parts of Darfur, where concern is growing over the spread of the highly contagious disease among children as the ongoing conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces weakens healthcare services and disrupts immunization campaigns.
"The illness started with a very high fever before the rash gradually spread across his body," Ishaq told Xinhua. "At first we thought it was just a normal fever, but his condition deteriorated quickly. He could no longer eat or move normally, so we brought him to the hospital."
Like Ishaq, many families arriving at Golo Hospital have found themselves struggling not only against the disease but also against a healthcare system stretched to its limits.
"The hospital lacks many essential medicines and supplies, and families often have to search outside the hospital for drugs, only to find none," Adam Ismail, whose nephew is also being treated for measles, told Xinhua.
He added that measles vaccination campaigns in the area have been suspended since the outbreak of war, leaving many children vulnerable to a preventable disease.
The United Nations Children's Fund recently warned of a resurgence of measles in Sudan due to widening immunity gaps and a decline in measles vaccination coverage to 46 percent. Outbreaks have been recorded in several areas, with the risk of wider transmission increasing in overcrowded displacement camps and remote communities.
Essam Eddin Al-Khair, a doctor at Golo Hospital, said that the hospital has admitted a growing number of children with measles in recent days, many arriving only after delays in seeking treatment.
He said shortages of medicines, intravenous fluids, medical supplies and healthcare workers have limited the hospital's ability to treat patients and isolate infections.
The Darfur Victims Support Organization and the Hope and Haven for Refugees Organization warned on Monday that measles was spreading in central Jebel Marra after six confirmed cases were recorded between July 21 and 24 in the Bardani and Tabra areas.
Yassin Adam, media officer of the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, told Xinhua that several displacement camps across Darfur have reported measles cases in recent weeks.
In East Darfur, health authorities have reported 140 measles cases, including 12 deaths, since February. They linked the outbreak to malnutrition, particularly among displaced children.
Authorities and aid groups said the measles-hit areas face common challenges, including shortages of vaccines and medicines, limited access to healthcare, overcrowding, unsafe drinking water and widespread malnutrition, all of which increase the risk of further transmission.
Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, Darfur's health sector has suffered extensive damage, with hospitals closing, vaccine and medicine supply chains disrupted, and routine immunization campaigns curtailed by insecurity and limited access. ■
