Two Turkish planes carrying medical aid provided by the state of Qatar arrived at Port Sudan Airport in eastern Sudan on Wednesday, as part of an airlift to transport 62 tons of medicines.
Sudan’s Minister of Health, Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim, and Qatar’s Ambassador to Khartoum, Mohammed bin Ibrahim, received the two planes, according to a statement from the Sudanese Ministry of Health.
The statement quoted the Sudanese Minister of Health as saying, “This grant comes as support from our brothers in the State of Qatar and is an extension of many aids provided by Doha.”
He mentioned that the Qatari medical airlift planes consist of 4 planes carrying 62 tons of cancer drugs, kidney transplant medications, and kidney dialysis consumables.
The Sudanese Minister added, “This grant is a generous donation from benefactors in the State of Qatar, implemented by Qatar Charity (QC), in collaboration with Hayrat Vakfi Foundation and the Turkish Ministry of Health, which provided the air cargo and facilitated the shipping procedures to Sudan.”
He also indicated that cancer drugs have not reached the country since the beginning of the war, considering their arrival as a source of hope to fill the gap in the shortage of cancer medications.
The Sudanese Minister expressed his gratitude to the states of Qatar and Turkey for providing and delivering medical supplies.
In response, the Qatari Ambassador, as per the statement, affirmed that “the aid to our brothers in Sudan in the medical and health field is part of the distinguished relations between the two sisterly countries in all areas.”
He added that the grant is a response to the call of the Sudanese Ministry of Health to provide cancer and kidney medications, explaining ‘the commitment to the list presented by the ministry. He further noted that the medical airlift consists of 4 planes carrying specialized medications, as an extension of a previous 12-plane airlift carrying medical and relief supplies.
Since mid-April, the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in clashes that a series of ceasefires have failed to halt, resulting in over 3,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and more than 4 million internally displaced people and refugees inside and outside the country.