In transition: current health challenges and priorities in Sudan
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A recent symposium and workshop in Khartoum, the capital of the Republic of Sudan, brought together broad expertise from three universities to address the current burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases facing the Sudanese healthcare system. These meetings identified common challenges that impact the burden of diseases in the country, most notably gaps in data and infrastructure which are essential to inform and deliver effective interventions. Non-communicable diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, renal disease and cancer are increasing dramatically, contributing to multimorbidity. At the same time, progress against communicable diseases has been slow, and the burden of chronic and endemic infections remains considerable, with parasitic diseases (such as malaria, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis) causing substantial morbidity and mortality. Antimicrobial resistance has become a major threat throughout the healthcare system, with an emerging impact on maternal, neonatal, and paediatric populations. Meanwhile, malnutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and poor perinatal outcomes remain common and contribute to a lifelong burden of disease. These challenges echo the UN sustainable development goals and concentrating on them in a unified strategy will be necessary to address the national burden of disease. At a time when the country is going through societal and political transition, we draw focus on the country and the need for resolution of its healthcare needs.
Date Issued
2019-08-21
Date Acceptance
2019-07-23
Citation
BMJ Global Health, 2019, 4:e001723
ISSN
2059-7908
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
BMJ Global Health
Volume
4:e001723
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Sponsor
ESRC
Wellcome Trust
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Grant Number
105603/Z/14/Z
MR/L006529/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
nutrition
maternal health
malaria
diabetes
cancer
hygiene
surgery
VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS
DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID
KHARTOUM STATE
CLIMATE-CHANGE
GLOBAL BURDEN
RISK-FACTORS
INDIVIDUALS
DISEASES
IODINE
SUPPLEMENTATION
cancer
diabetes
hygiene
malaria
maternal health
nutrition
surgery
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN e001723
Date Publish Online
2019-08-21