STORY: Sudan's war exacerbates cancer patients' suffering
SHOOTING TIME: July 24, 2024
DATELINE: July 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:19
LOCATION: Khartoum
CATEGORY: HEALTH

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the building of the Oncology Center in Port Sudan, the capital city of the Red Sea State in eastern Sudan
2. various of cancer patients receiving treatment at the center
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): DAFALLA OMER ABUIDRIS, Director of Sudan's National Centers for Oncology Treatment
4. various of cancer patients receiving treatment at the center
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): DAFALLA OMER ABUIDRIS, Director of Sudan's National Centers for Oncology Treatment
6. various of a medical cadre providing treatment for a patient and patients receiving treatment
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): FATIMA ABDULLAH, Patient
8. SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): MAIMUNA IDRIS, Patient
9. various of medical cadres at the center making tests

STORYLINE:

Due to prolonged clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, all health facilities in West Kordofan stopped working.

Due to the war, Sudan has lost five radiotherapy devices that were in Khartoum and Gezira State, according to Dafalla Omer Abuidris, director of Sudan's National Centers for Oncology Treatment.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): DAFALLA OMER ABUIDRIS, Director of Sudan's National Centers for Oncology Treatment
"The treatment was concentrated in Khartoum and Wad Madani, with seven centers in the states. The state centers provided chemotherapy, while radiotherapy was available only in Khartoum and Madani. After the war broke out in Sudan, the Khartoum and Madani centers unfortunately went out of service, which worsened the situation for cancer patients in the country. If there hadn't been some centers in the states, there would have been no treatment for cancer patients."

Oncology centers in Sudan suffer from a shortage of cancer medicines.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): DAFALLA OMER ABUIDRIS, Director of Sudan's National Centers for Oncology Treatment
"We are facing a shortage of chemotherapy medicines because the war has impacted Sudan's budget, leading to accumulated debts with companies that have stopped importing the medications."

Fatima, a Sudanese patient with blood cancer, spoke to Xinhua at an oncology center in Port Sudan. The center was overwhelmed by patients and already experiencing a great shortage of supplies. Fatima described her odyssey from the southern inland state of West Kordofan all the way up to the Red Sea city.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): FATIMA ABDULLAH, Patient
"I began my treatment in Wad Madani city. But after the war reached there, I moved to Port Sudan, the capital of the Red Sea State in eastern Sudan. While I found treatment here, we are lacking radiotherapy, which should also be available."

Maimuna, a breast cancer patient, said that an arduous trek from the South Kordofan state took her here. But she immediately found the facility to be lacking in radiotherapy, and she had to opt for much more expensive alternatives.

SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): MAIMUNA IDRIS, Patient
"We receive the treatment doses, but we lack radiotherapy. I came here from South Kordofan State and cannot travel elsewhere for the treatment. Port Sudan is a large city, and radiotherapy should be available here."

The WHO said in a report published on June 18 that nearly 15 million people in the country are estimated to need urgent lifesaving healthcare services.
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Khartoum.
(XHTV)