The medical charity, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), has issued an urgent plea for humanitarian organizations that have halted operations in Sudan to resume their work in the country.
Almost a year following the onset of conflict between opposing military factions, MSF emphasized the unfolding of a monumental humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
MSF called upon the United Nations to leverage its influence and leadership to facilitate a swift escalation of aid efforts.
Close to five million individuals in Sudan are confronted with emergency levels of food insecurity. Recently, the Norwegian Refugee Council sounded the alarm about the looming threat of a catastrophic famine.
MSF said that all the levels for emergency malnutrition have been met and asked for more help from other countries right away.
At least one kid was dying every two hours at the Zamzam camp, close to the city of Fasher.
Fighting between Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group has forced about eight million people to leave their homes since last April.
Almost five million people in Sudan are now experiencing very severe hunger, according to the World Food Programme. It has doubled since the conflict began.
The organization helping people affected by the fighting could only give important help to 10% of the people who need it.
It says that people who help others, sick people, and the people who take care of them are experiencing a lot of violence from local armed groups when they go around the town of Batangafo in the northern Central African Republic.
Gisa Kohler, who is in charge of operations for MSF in the country, says that we are very upset about any violence that happens to patients, their caretakers, our staff, or the bike riders who deliver supplies for our humanitarian organization.
The charity says it can’t keep giving healthcare in the area where two really terrible attacks happened in less than a week, from August 26 to 30.
This year, Batangafo has experienced at least 16 attacks. These incidents mostly involve groups of armed men committing violent robberies.
The people who were hurt include motorbike riders who take patients from one place to another, community health workers who give care in rural areas, and groups of vehicles with workers who travel to local communities for activities.
Moreover, there were two incidents where a worker from MSF and people taking care of patients were victims of sexual violence.
MSF has asked all armed groups to treat healthcare staff, humanitarian workers, patients, and their caretakers with kindness and make sure they are safe.
The organization has been in the location since 2006.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported a disturbing incident in Sudan’s capital, where armed men attacked a convoy of medics, subjecting them to beatings and whippings.
The attack occurred while the medical team was en route to the Turkish Hospital located in the southern part of Khartoum on Thursday. During the assault, one of their vehicles was stolen.
Amidst the ongoing war that began in mid-April, only two hospitals remain operational in the southern part of the city. These hospitals, crucial for providing medical care to the affected population, are supported by MSF.
However, the violent power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the past three months has wreaked havoc on medical facilities in the city.
This recent attack not only endangers the lives and well-being of the medical staff but also poses a threat to the aid and support provided by MSF to these essential healthcare facilities.
Since April, over three million people across Sudan have been displaced from their homes, leaving them in dire circumstances. While many have fled the country, millions of others are still in Khartoum, facing immense challenges in accessing medical assistance and essential medicines.
In this critical situation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stands as one of the few international aid organizations that continue to support hospitals in Khartoum and Omdurman.
These hospitals have been operating under immense strain for decades. Despite the challenges, MSF has treated more than 1,600 patients in these facilities since the conflict began.
However, the charity is now facing the possibility of halting its crucial medical support due to a significant deterioration in security. Recent incidents have seen their staff being targeted, posing serious risks to their ability to continue their life-saving work.
In one such alarming incident on Thursday, armed men engaged in an altercation with an MSF convoy consisting of 18 people and four trucks carrying medical supplies.
During the encounter, the assailants not only assaulted the MSF team but also threatened the life of one of the drivers. Eventually, they made off with one of the vehicles, further complicating the already precarious situation.
The escalating security threats are jeopardizing the healthcare system’s survival in the region, leaving millions vulnerable and in urgent need of assistance.
“If an incident like this happens again, and if our ability to move supplies continues to be obstructed, then, regrettably, our presence in the Turkish Hospital will soon become untenable,” MSF’s Christophe Garnier said in a statement.
The confrontation took place not far from the hospital, where hundreds of patients, including those recently wounded in air strikes, are undergoing treatment.
“On a daily basis, this hospital receives around 15 war wounded patients, carries out lifesaving surgery and keeps patients with chronic diseases alive,” MSF said.
According to the AFP news agency, the hospital is in an area of the city controlled by the RSF.
Aerial bombardments have intensified in residential areas of Khartoum where the paramilitary fighters have their bases, it says.
Official figures put the number of dead in the conflict at around 3,000, but it is thought to be far higher.
Some estimates from the western region of Darfur, which have seen the worst of the violence, say the death toll in one city alone is 11,000.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is contemplating the suspension of its crucial operations in theSudanese capital, Khartoum, due to a string of incidents where its personnel have been deliberately targeted.
The most recent incident occurred on Thursday when a convoy, transporting essential medical supplies to the Turkish Hospital in the southern part of the capital, was intercepted by a group of armed individuals, as reported by MSF in a press release.
“After arguing about the reasons for MSF’s presence, the armed men then aggressively assaulted our team, physically beating and whipping them, as well as detaining the driver of one of our vehicles.”
The life of the driver was then threatened and the vehicle was stolen.
The charity has said that its work at the Turkish Hospital is in “serious jeopardy” without safety guarantees.
“In order to save people’s lives, the lives of our staff who are there to carry out this life saving work must not be put at risk.
“If an incident like this happens again, and if our ability to move supplies continues to be obstructed, then, regrettably, our presence in the Turkish Hospital will soon become untenable,” Christophe Garnier, MSF’s emergencies manager for Sudan, said.
The hospital is only one of two operating in southern Khartoum, both of which MSF supports, the charity says.
There are very few other international charities working in the country.
But now “the organisation is beginning to think that its ongoing support may soon no longer be possible”.
As the three-month conflict between the army and a paramilitary force continues, the few remainingmedical facilities in Khartoum are struggling to treat wounded patients.
MSF says it has treated over 1,600 war-wounded patients in the capital since April.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has revealed that feeding centers in Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria, are receiving an unprecedented number of malnourished children in need of life-saving care.
According to the medical organization, approximately 1,300 kids have been admitted to intensive care units since the year began, which is the most for this time period ever seen in Borno state.
Per the report, by April, the number of severely malnourished youngsters admitted each week had doubled from January’s average of 75.
The living conditions in some of the children’s previous detention camps—which are run by armed opposition groups—are quite terrible.
MSF is warning of an impending catastrophe if urgent action is not taken.
A currency crisis and a fire which destroyed the main market in Maiduguri have made things worse.
An ongoing insurgency in the region by the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has left thousands dead, forced many more from their homes and resulted in a humanitarian crisis.
