Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar) Worsens the Suffering of Displaced People in North Darfur

A medical team has confirmed that the disease that raised concerns among displaced people and residents in the Abd Al-Shakur area of Kuttum locality, North Darfur State, is visceral leishmaniasis, locally known as Kala-Azar.

According to the Abd Al-Shakur Emergency Room, a medical team visited the area and stayed for three days, conducting field visits to patients and carrying out medical examinations. The team subsequently diagnosed the cases as visceral leishmaniasis, commonly known as Kala-Azar.

The diagnosis confirms health concerns previously raised by the emergency room in an earlier report regarding the emergence of an unidentified disease among residents and displaced people in the area. The disease was accompanied by skin and other health symptoms, prompting calls for urgent medical intervention.

Salah Adam Abdullah, a member of the Abd Al-Shakur Emergency Room, told Mashawir that the emergency room “welcomes the early response of the medical team, its visit to the area, and the medical examinations it conducted.”

He called on the relevant authorities to urgently provide the necessary medicines to treat the affected patients.

Abdullah also called for the establishment of a fully equipped laboratory in the area, the construction of isolation wards, and the provision of first-aid kits for the health committee. He further urged the provision of spraying equipment, pesticides, and drinking-water disinfectants to help curb the spread of the disease and control the health situation.

He stressed that “providing these needs urgently is an important step toward supporting the health response efforts and protecting residents and displaced people, amid limited medical services in the area and the need for specialized and sustained interventions.”