Sudan is still one of the largest countries in Africa even after the split of the Northern and Southern parts. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the region and is home to over 37.9 million people.
Contents
- History of Health care in Sudan
- Recent health situation
- Vital statistics
- Health Policies Systems and Financing
- Malaria
- Yellow Fever
- Nodding disease
- HIVAIDS
- Maternal and Child Healthcare
- Levels and trends in under 5 and infant mortality
- Maternal health
- Oral Health in Sudan
- Situation in Sudan
- DMFT and dmft
- Cleft lip and Palate
- References
With this rise in population and bearing in mind the political issues that have plagued the country with war and hostility for the last 25 years, health care has become an afterthought and basically lost in the midst of what the government might believe to be more pressing matters. Sudan still has a long way to go to achieve its millennium developmental goals and to establish an adequate and efficient health care system that benefits every individual in the country.
History of Health care in Sudan
History of the medical research and providing professional medical health care in Sudan could be traced back to 1903, when The Wellcome Research Laboratory was established in Khartoum as a part of the Gordon Memorial College
Recent health situation
Sudan, with an increasingly ageing population, faces a double burden of disease with rising rates of communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
Water is a main cause to each of these.
Vital statistics
Health Policies, Systems and Financing
Malaria
Malaria is one of the most deadly and epidemic diseases that affects Sudan and the African region in general. This is mainly due to the high temperatures and inadequate infrastructure regarding drainage and sewer systems. Stangnant and still water that builds up and is not drained becomes a reservoir and breeding ground for mosquitoes. This leads to their large numbers in the affected area. Still, we have reason to believe that the effect and burden of Malaria is somewhat underestimated. In 2007 a study was conducted in Sudan which revealed underreporting of malaria episodes and deaths to the formal health system, with the consequent underestimation of the disease burden.
Children less than five years of age had the highest mortality rate and DALYs, emphasizing the known effect of malaria on this population group. Females lost more DALYs than males in all age groups, which altered the picture displayed by the incidence rates alone. The epidemiological estimates and DALYs calculations in this study form a basis for comparing interventions that affect mortality and morbidity differently, by comparing the amount of burden averted by them. The DALYs would mark the position of malaria among the rest of the diseases, if compared to DALYs due to other diseases. Uncertainty around the estimates should be considered when using them for decision making and further work should quantify this uncertainty to facilitate utilisation of the results. More epidemiological studies are required to fill in the gaps revealed in this study and to more accurately determine the effect and burden of the disease.
Yellow Fever
The World Health Organization was notified by the Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan of an outbreak of yellow fever in 2012 which affected five states in Darfur. The yellow fever outbreak resulted in 847 suspected cases including 171 deaths. To reduce the spread of yellow fever, The World Health Organization worked with The Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan on a vaccination campaign that halted the outbreak.
Nodding disease
Nodding disease or nodding syndrome is a new, little-known disease which emerged in Sudan in the 1980s. It is a fatal, mentally and physically disabling disease that only affects young children. It is currently restricted to a small region of southern Sudan.
HIV/AIDS
Sudan is bordered by seven countries in which HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent, therefore Sudan is susceptible to an increase in HIV/AIDS prevalence. In 1986, the first case of HIV and AIDS in Sudan was reported. Sudan's HIV epidemiological situation is currently classified as a low epidemic, as of July 2011.
The main mode of transmission worldwide is through heterosexual contact, which is no different in Sudan. However transmission varies in different countries, in the United States,as of 2009, men who had sex with men was the main mode of transmission, accounting for 64% of all new cases. In Sudan however, heterosexual transmission accounted for 97% of HIV positive cases.
As of January 5, 2011, the Adult(15-49) prevalence in Sudan was found to be 0.4%, an estimated 260,000 were living with HIV and there were 12,000 HIV related annual deaths. A population based study was conducted in 2002 which estimated the sero-prevalence to be 1.6%. According to recent studies, the HIV and AIDS prevalence in Sudan among blood donors has increased from 0.15% in 1993 to 1.4% in 2000. Sudan is considered to be a country with an intermediate HIV and AIDS prevalence by the World Health Organization(WHO).
HIV/AIDS related-services have been introduced in all the states of Sudan. Free services have been provided across the country, which have significantly improved the life of people living with HIV.
Maternal and Child Healthcare
The 2013 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Sudan is 2054. This is compared with 306.3 in 2008 and 592.6 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 109 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 34. In Sudan the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 1 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women 1 in 7.
Levels and trends in under-5 and infant mortality
Maternal health
Oral Health in Sudan
see also Dental public health , Outline of dentistry and oral health
Oral diseases are many, some of them are of public health importance . these are dental caries and periodontal diseases and oral cancer
Situation in Sudan
Little data are found in literature about the oral health in Sudan before 1960s. Studies conducted after that showed different results because they were carried out in different populations and clinical settings.
About 772 dentists are practicing in Sudan (2 dentists/ 100 000 ) in 2008. Dental services are included in insurance schemes with the exception of dentures, orthodontic treatments and plastic surgery.
DMFT and dmft
are indicators used to determine the status of dental caries. Here are some data for different age groups
* A total of 275 pre-school children in kindergartens from Khartoum were studied.
Cleft lip and Palate
This malformation showed a prevalence of 0.9 per 1000 in Sudan. More girls are affected than boys, with a male:female ratio of 3:10. (44% cleft lip with cleft palate, 30% only cleft palate, and 16% cleft lip alone).