Sudan clinics face stock-out in weeks due to Middle East war, NGO says

GENEVA, March 17 - Medical supplies to clinics dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Sudan could run out within two weeks unless shipments are rapidly rerouted after disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East, the charity Save the Children said. Read more at straitstimes.com.

GENEVA, March 17 - Medical supplies to clinics dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Sudan could run out within two weeks unless shipments are rapidly rerouted after disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East, the charity Save the Children said.

The expanding U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has shaken global supply chains, with airspace closures and the halt of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Some $600,000 worth of essential medicines are stuck in ports in Dubai, the charity said.

About 90 Sudanese government-run clinics serving roughly 400,000 patients rely on the charity's supply of medicines, vaccines and nutritional treatment, with no in-country alternative, Save the Children's global director of supply chain safety, Willem Zuidema, told Reuters.

Sudan's three-year conflict has displaced millions of people and triggered one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

"We have a couple of weeks to do this rerouting before the country's stocks run out. The clock is ticking," Zuidema said, adding that once buffer stocks are exhausted patients would not be able to access basic healthcare support.