Far from fighting, doctor strikes aggravate healthcare collapse in Port Sudan

Sudanese families wait outside a hospital while doctors and medical staff strike to protest late salaries, bringing the struggling health sector in the city of Port Sudan to almost a complete halt as thousands of displaced Sudanese flooded the city due to the raging war in Khartoum, Sudan, August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Ibrahim Mohammed Ishak

PORT SUDAN (Reuters) - The army-controlled coastal city of Port Sudan has become a refuge from the war raging to the west, but its health system is in near collapse due to power cuts and scarce supplies - and staff shortages now exacerbated by striking doctors.

Doctors and nurses in the Red Sea city say they have not been paid for four months, as the Sudanese government's budget has been decimated by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).