ICRC medical aid en route to Sudan from Amman

AMMAN — Life-saving medical equipment was departed from Amman en route to Port Sudan Saturday as part of emergency operations conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) following the outbreak of conflict in Sudan.

The eight tonnes of humanitarian cargo includes surgical supplies to support Sudanese hospitals and volunteers from the Sudan Red Crescent Society (SRCS) who are providing medical care to people wounded from the fighting, according to a statement posted on the ICRC website on Sunday.

“Healthcare workers in Sudan have been doing the impossible, caring for the wounded without water, electricity and basic medical supplies,” said Patrick Youssef, ICRC’s regional director for Africa. 

“The logistics needed to bring in supplies amid an active conflict are extremely difficult, and we’re relieved to get this medical material into the country,” Youssef added. 

The medical shipment includes anesthetics, dressings, sutures and other surgical supplies that can treat the thousands who may have been wounded by weapons. 

With hostilities still ongoing, ICRC teams will need guarantees of safe passage from the parties involved in the conflict in order to deliver supplies to medical facilities in active combat zones, such as Khartoum.

Since commercial flights in Sudan were discontinued and the civilian airspace became inaccessible, the ICRC has been working to overcome logistical and security challenges to help civilians in need who are trapped amid the fighting. 

The most urgent priorities for the ICRC remain delivering medical supplies to hospitals and helping them restore water and power lines.

The ICRC noted its gratitude for the Jordanian authorities’ support — where the ICRC has a major logistics hub — who rapidly made an aircraft available to deliver the medical cargo.

The ICRC also expressed its appreciation for the cooperation shown by the civilian Sudanese authorities in charge of facilitating the arrival of aircraft with humanitarian aid and personnel on board.

The ICRC is sending a second airplane carrying additional medical supplies and emergency personnel.

The ICRC reminds the parties involved in the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to facilitate the work of medical and humanitarian personnel, treat detainees humanely and take all feasible precautions to avoid loss of life among civilians and damage to civilian objects and infrastructure.