World Tour: Healthcare meltdown in Sudan

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Sudan healthcare — We begin today again in Sudan where the ongoing war is taking a toll on healthcare.

AUDIO: [Bombing]

Fighting that began in April between the military and a paramilitary force has destroyed critical infrastructure.

The Sudan Medical Council says 59 out of the 89 hospitals in the capital city of Khartoum and its surrounding areas have completely suspended services. The remaining 30 health centers are fully or partially operating.

AUDIO: [Speaking Arabic]

Mohamed Awad, a kidney dialysis patient, says he’s been out of dialysis for 10 days. He added that the hospitals no longer have painkillers.

On Sunday, Doctors without Borders said at least 13 children have died from a measles outbreak in recent weeks at refugee camps in Sudan’s White Nile state.

The group warned the coming rainy season could bring more waterborne diseases if medical support doesn’t increase.

Haiti Support — Next, to Haiti.

AUDIO: [Kids chatting]

Unprecedented hunger and malnutrition have left nearly half of Haitians in urgent need. That’s according to the United Nations’ children’s agency.

UNICEF says almost three million children need aid in Haiti.

UNICEF head Catherine Russell says residents are also grappling with a failed economy, resurgence of cholera, and violence against children.

RUSSELL: So my reaction is: it's a terrible situation and that the people here deserve better and they need some more help.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Haiti over the weekend. He called for more support to help Haiti fight crippling gang violence.

GUTERRES: [Speaking French]

Guterres called on the international community to support Haiti out of solidarity and moral justice.

Guatemala elections — Next, to Guatemala, where protesters are disputing an election outcome.

AUDIO: [Protesters]

Protesters waved flags outside the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in Guatemala City on Sunday opposing alleged electoral fraud.

They are demanding new elections after the country’s top court suspended the official announcement of last week’s vote to allow for a review. The nation’s Constitutional Court ordered the review after 10 political parties jointly appealed. The court said the review will search for any suspected irregularities in the result.

The top two presidential contenders, former First Lady Sandra Torres and center-left Bernardo Arévalo, both failed to clinch enough votes for an outright win. Before the court’s injunction, they planned to face off in an August runoff vote.

AREVALO: [Speaking Spanish]

Arevalo says the constitutional court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case. The court said it will complete the review within five days.

Iraq Quran burning — We end today in Iraq.

AUDIO: [Chanting]

Hundreds of Iraqi Muslims chanted and burned Swedish flags on Friday.

Last week, an Iraqi living in Sweden stomped on a Quran and burned some of its pages outside of a mosque in central Stockholm.

Swedish authorities had granted him a permit to stage the protest.

AUDIO: [Protest]

It triggered similar marches in Iran and Pakistan. Kuwait, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates recalled their ambassadors in protest. Iraq’s foreign ministry has asked Sweden to extradite the man who burned the Quran to face trial.

On Sunday, the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation called for collective measures among its 57-member body to prevent future Quran burnings.

TAHA: [Speaking French]

Hissein Brahim Taha, the organization’s secretary general, says the act is more than an Islamophobic incident, but also insults Muslims’ religious beliefs.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said the country upholds a right to freedom of expression, but also condemned the incident as a clear provocation.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

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