July 6, 2013

Water shortage, so prices rise

 File photo.

The water shortage in Port Sudan is prompting many people to migrate to other cities in Sudan. This is overstretching the bus system, that has seen ticket prices soar from SDG80 ($18) to SDG150 ($35) on the black market, while a tin of water has risen from SDG4 ($0.90) to SDG5 ($1.14).

And activist from Port Sudan told Radio Dabanga that with the ongoing water shortage has caused overcrowding and panic at the bus station.

"As there are no clear solutions in sight, most of the population want to desert the city, so the price of a ticket from Port Sudan to Khartoum and other cities has risen to SDG150 ($35)," he said. "Neither the central government nor the state authorities are serious about finding solutions to the water crisis. When the First Vice President committed visited the city, he promised to provide funds as well as ten large tankers to relieve the crisis, but a month has passed without result, and peoples' suffering continues to grow," the activist lamented.


From June 28, 2013. AllAfrica . Additional info in this article about the malnutrition of children. (see below.)

The Medical Director of the Children's Hospital in Port Sudan, Dr Zafaran Al Zaki, has confirmed that there has been an outbreak of acute malnutrition among children in eastern Sudan.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Dr Al Zaki said that it is occurring in various segments of society, and affects about 30 per cent of children. She says that this figure can be expected to rise during the period from October to March, attributing it to "economic factors and the acute poverty among people of eastern Sudan".

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