KHARTOUM – For five days, lawyer Khaled Mohamed Salem has been searching for blood pressure and diabetes medications for his elderly mother, and has been unable to find them as pharmacies in Khartoum have been disrupted due to ongoing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April.

Fighting in the capital Khartoum and its suburbs has increased the suffering of patients and their families from the scarcity of medicines, as companies stopped distributing them, destroyed their local factories, closed most pharmacies and looted others.

Salem tells Al Jazeera Net that obtaining medicines for chronic diseases has become a "very tiring" task, due to the disruption of pharmacies from work, which prompted him with a group of his neighbors in the neighborhood to communicate with a number of pharmacists who put forward an initiative to obtain medicines through social networking sites.

A number of pharmacists published through these platforms a list of the types of medicines they have, with their phone numbers to communicate with them, and hired volunteers with motorcycles to deliver medicines to patients at their sites, despite the risks to their lives.

Salem said that this initiative has greatly alleviated the suffering of patients with chronic diseases, especially since the owners of the initiative sell medicines at real prices. He criticized some of the "greedy" who took advantage of the crisis and doubled prices under harsh economic and living conditions.

Osama Abdel Rahman, a member of the Drug Delivery Initiative, said that their phones do not stop receiving calls from patients looking for medicines throughout the day, and complained about the scarcity of some items that are only available in the medical supply box, which are classified among life-saving medicines, as well as intravenous solutions, cancer diseases and others.

He pointed to the spirit of solidarity in society, as some citizens took the initiative to donate the medicines they have available to those who need them, and publish information about them through social networking sites. But he said they had received calls from patients who could not afford the drug because banks were shut down, cash was unavailable, or the price of the drug was overstretched.

Drug warehouse in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, destroyed and burned by ongoing clashes (French)

On the black market

In recent days, pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacists have issued a warning of catastrophic conditions, as a result of the cessation and destruction of most factories and the damage of some types of medicines in their warehouses due to power outages weeks ago and the looting of several stores, which led to a scarcity of life-saving medicines, and a crazy rise in the prices of those available to enter the "black market".

Complicating matters further, the RSF took control of the government's medical supply fund in southern Khartoum, which has huge warehouses providing life-saving medicines to hospitals and pharmacies in the capital, has arms in 18 states, and its scattered pharmacies have ceased to function.

The Pharmacists Union described the health situation in Khartoum as the worst compared to the rest of the states, stressing the presence of some stocks of medicines, but most pharmacies and stores were forced to close due to the fighting.


The solution is possible

The former head of the Sudanese Pharmacists Union, Salah Swar al-Dhahab, explained that the country had a good stock of medicines before the military confrontations, but the majority of drug stores and factories are located in Khartoum, whose areas witnessed clashes between the army and the Rapid Support, and were looted, and even the medicines that survived the burning remained trapped and could not be transported in the current circumstances.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Swar al-Dahab says that medicines need special storage and refrigeration, which is not available under war conditions, which causes the scarcity of important varieties such as serums and insulin used by diabetics.

He added that the medicines in the medical supply box that he provides to hospitals, even those in pharmacies, were affected by power cuts, which requires their import quickly to cover the deficit, pointing out that there are stores in some states that can supply the most affected capital for a limited period.

He revealed that the Medical Supplies Fund and some companies tried to distribute medicines to the states, but the Rapid Support Forces seized them, and warned that local factories would not resume work soon due to the sabotage and destruction. Pharmaceutical companies are also unable to transport their medicines from their warehouses, which threatens a severe crisis in the drug if it is not imported quickly.

Swar al-Dahab said supplies and consumables used in operations were greatly affected because they were used in large quantities during the period of military clashes that injured thousands of civilians, and it takes between 3 and 4 months to import them. He called for simplifying its procedures through the port of Port Sudan because the scarcity of these supplies leads to great risks to the lives of the sick and injured, and suggested safe corridors for the transport of medicines from ports and airports to the capital and the states.

The gold bracelet points to complications that could disrupt the procedures for importing medicines from abroad, including the cessation of work by banks, and the continuation of the war will affect economic conditions and the availability of free currencies, which slows down import procedures.

Abandoned hospital in El Geneina due to continued bloody fighting (French)

"Reassuring" stock

In response to warnings from the pharmaceutical sector and pharmacists, officials at Sudan's health ministry say stocks of medicines so far are reassuring, although out of 3400,10 pharmacies in the capital Khartoum are operating less than <> percent, which many cannot access due to the security situation.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, government officials blamed the Rapid Support Forces for the scarcity of medicines by looting some pharmacies, which reduced the number of workers, as well as disrupting the work of the Medical Supply Fund, which provides life-saving medicines, and detaining medicines that were on their way to the states.

The Ministry of Health has identified scarce items for supply from States and organizations that have declared their willingness to provide humanitarian assistance. Some of the shipments arrived by air at Port Sudan airport and will be transported to Khartoum as soon as possible, government officials said.

Sudanese organizations estimated that 5,<> kidney patients left Khartoum for neighboring states where washing centers are available, due to the difficulty of their work in the capital's three cities.

The families of kidney patients launched an appeal in which they warned that their lives are at risk of death, to stop the work of most dialysis centers in Khartoum, and talked about the dangers of reaching the worker from them.

The Ministry of Health responded that a ship arrived at the port of Port Sudan carrying 130,<> "washes" for kidney patients sufficient for two months, and a Jordanian company donated a quantity sufficient for a month, in addition to an initiative from Sudanese doctors in the diaspora.