
On the Sudanese -Ethiopian border and in a remote village called Bandgio in the state of Gedaref, the leishmaniasis of the zebra known as the “calamar” among children, causing increasing deaths, is out of the absence of basic medical care.
The episode of “Imran 5” program monitored on 3/15/2025, the suffering of the residents of this village, which has become a focus of the disease, as the people confirmed that the sandy fly of the parasite lives extensively in the region, which makes the injury almost inevitable in light of the lack of appropriate treatment.
One of the residents narrated his tragic story by losing 4 of his children due to illness, indicating that the symptoms begin with severe fever, before they worsen quickly and often end with death.
He added that the lack of awareness and the weakness of the medical capabilities made the matter more complicated, as the injured are forced to travel long distances to the Gedaref Hospital in rugged roads, and it is often the time to save their lives.
During the tour of the village, the program reviewed painful scenes of families that lost their children because of the Calisar, while others were facing the same fate without hope to obtain a close treatment.
One of the doctors explained that this disease attacks the spleen, liver and immune system, and causes the internal organs to be enlarged and the number of blood cells is low, which makes the infected vulnerable to fatal complications.
The crisis was not limited to the same disease, but was exacerbated by the lack of basic health care, as there is no health unit equipped in the village or a permanent medical staff, which causes the parents to rely on primitive treatments or wait for rare health campaigns.
When one of the residents was asked about the closest hospital, he referred to a trip that takes hours amid dirt roads that may mean the difference between life and death for patients.
The Ministry of Health Initiative
In the face of this tragedy, a team from the Ministry of Health launched a spraying campaign to combat the sand fly, in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease, and the campaign included spraying homes and residential areas with special pesticides targeting the places of fly reproduction, in addition to providing the treatments available to patients.
One of the campaign officials said that these efforts are a first step towards reducing the rates of infection, but it is not sufficient without enhancing the health capabilities in the region.
The same official called on the concerned authorities and humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene to establish a health center equipped with the necessary medicines and equipment, considering that the continuation of the current situation means more deaths.
Despite the tragedy, the people did not lose hope, as they received the health team with a great hospitality, clinging to any glimmer of hope that may save their children from the inevitable fate.
While the program was documenting the scenes of the campaign, one of the children with “Al -Kalazar” appeared smiling despite its pain, which reflects the hardness of the village residents in the face of the harsh challenges.
The question remains about the extent of these limited efforts to save the lives of children, in light of the outbreak of the disease and the absence of a healthy structure capable of dealing with it, while the hope of the villagers remains suspended by broader intervention that provides them and their proverbs a basic right in life, which is the treatment before it is too late.