Sudan: Continuing Strike of Medics in Nuba Mountains, South Darfur Closes Entire Hospitals

Patients waiting to be seen by a doctor at the First Aid Hospital in El Geneina, West Darfur (Social media)

Kadugli / Nyala — The general strike of government employees in the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, that entered its third month, has led to the closure of the main hospitals in the state. Patients in South Darfur are forced to visit expensive private clinics or stay at home as the state hospitals are closed as well.

The South Kordofan civil servants demand the payment of their financial dues, including arrears from 2020 and 2021, and the application of the new 2022 salary structure, that was supposed to be implemented in the entire country in January. Sources claim that the planned salary increases have been implemented only in Khartoum.

The Teaching Hospital in Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan, the Delling Teaching Hospital, the Mother Bakheeta Maternity Hospital in Delling, and the Abbasiya Hospital are completely closed. The hospital of Debeibat is the only state hospital that still treats emergency cases.

Medics told Radio Dabanga that the state government could not provide the required budgets to operate the emergency departments, which prompted the doctors to stop working as they are unable to run their daily work.

South Darfur

The South Darfur state medical personnel who laid down their tools six weeks ago have not received any response from the state government.

Doctor Ammar, head of the Strike Coordination, told Radio Dabanga that medics "are sticking to their strike that calls for their legitimate financial dues".

He explained that the South Darfur Ministry of Finance had announced the partial implementation of the new 2022 salary structure before the Eid El Adha (the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice that began on Saturday). "Yet the Coordination was not notified about the way it would partially be implemented, plus nothing was mentioned about other benefits and the various arrears as well."

Almost all state hospitals and health centres in South Darfur are affected by the strike. Listeners complained that they are forced to take their sick relatives to private clinics and hospitals, "where the cost of treatment is exorbitant" or just attempting to treat them by themselves.