Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sudan through Infection Prevention and Control As of 5 May 2020, the Federal Ministry of Health had recorded seven hundred and seventy-eight (778) cases of COVID-19 (most in Khartoum state) since the first confirmed case on 13 March 2020. Forty-five (45) COVID-19 deaths have also been recorded. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has rated Sudan as at risk for the COVID-19 spread based on risk profile and capacity of the country to respond to a potential outbreak. Sudan’s health system has limited capacity, marked by decades of limited investment, under-funding, and lack of qualified staff, infrastructure, equipment, medicines and supplies and has significant gaps in preparedness capacity for technical and operational implementation. The surveillance system currently doesn’t cover the entire country and is structurally weak to find all suspected cases at community level and provide the information in a timely manner on the extent of the outbreak. 

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the humanitarian situation in Sudan characterised by protracted, complex and overlapping humanitarian challenges every year. The situation of children and families in Sudan has continued deteriorating amid a continued severe and acute economic crisis, fueled by shortages of fuel, cash, and bread which has hit vulnerable children and families hard, and slowed down humanitarian and development operations including those of the government. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (2020), at the beginning of 2020, 9.3 million people – of which 5.3 million are children – are in need of humanitarian assistance (a sharp increase from the 5.5 million people/2.5 million children in need of humanitarian assistance in 2019). Sudan has one of the worst health indicators in the region and the disparity between urban and rural and between rich and poor is huge. 

The Government of Sudan preparations for the COVID-19 response plan were initiated before any cases were identified in-country. With the technical lead of the relevant UN Funds, Programmes and Agencies, including support from UNICEF, the Government’s Country Preparedness and Response Plan (CPRP) was developed to ready emergency response systems covering the following: : i) Country-level coordination, ii) Points of Entry iii) Surveillance, rapid-response teams, and case investigation, iv) National Laboratories, v) Infection prevention and control, vi) Case Management, vii) Risk communication and community engagement and viii) Operational support and Logistics. 

The main intervention areas are identified as follows:

I. Surveillance, rapid-response teams, and case investigation
II. Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).

Specific activities include:
- Provision of personal protective equipment (e.g. coverall, goggles, face shield, gloves and surgical masks)
- Training of health workers and volunteers on use of PPE (e.g. appropriate use and safe disposal, cost of which will be covered by other funding sources)
- Monitoring and supervision at state-level (e.g. UNICEF staff will provide ongoing monitoring and supervision to ensure rational use of personal protective equipment and to track beneficiary progress) 
- Establishment of community-based contact tracing and active case finding
- Improved functionality of COVID-19 Call Centre at national and state levels
- Provision of key WASH supplies (hand sanitizers, soap, chlorine and storage tanks)
- Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services including (e.g. rehabilitation/construction of water and sanitation facilities, installation of water tanks and extension of water pipelines, provision and installation of hand washing stations, training of personnel and support the operation and maintenance of WASH services).

States to covered are: Khartoum, Gazera, Gedaref, Northern State, River Nile Sennar, and the five Darfur states (ND, SD, ED , CD and WD)