Death rate falls sharply in Darfur

KHARTOUM, July 3, 2005 (Xinhua) — Sudanese Minister of Health Ahmed Bilal Osman announced here Sunday that an initial survey showed a threefold decrease in death rates in the western region of Darfur.

A Sudanese woman exits a medical consultation after receiving attention at a Save the Children/US Aid Clinic in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. (AFP) .

At a press conference, the minister said that death rate in Darfur was under emergency level and the health situation had apparently improved in the war-torn region.

He added that the maximum death rate in Darfur has reached 0.8 out of 10,000 people per day.

He added that it is a clear evidence that the relief support delivered by the Sudanese Ministry of Health and the international community has a tangible influence on the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

It is also a result of the fast alert system and the proper investigation which have been adopted by the concerned sides to control the epidemics.

Sudan’s arid and impoverished western region of Darfur has witnessed over two years of civil war which pit two local rebel groups against Arab-led Sudanese government.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than a million driven from their homes, most of them by government-backed militias.

Peace talks are underway in the Nigerian capital of Abuja to end the conflict.