«Too a lot violence»: MSF leaves Khartoum and Sudan | EUROtoday

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“We cannot guarantee the safety of patients and operators and are forced to suspend activities in theBashir hospital in Khartoum.” Gaia Gilettaanswerable for the malnutrition program of Doctors Without Borders simply returned from Sudan, she explains the painful however mandatory selection of the worldwide NGO. In reality, in 20 months of exercise within the nation, MSF has suffered eighty assaults from forces vying for energy. Erupted in April 2023, the civil battle wherein the Rapid Support (RSF) troops combat towards the Sudanese military (SAF) has very heavy numbers: over 11 million refugees, of which three are distributed exterior the nation between Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, 1000’s lifeless and injured. Those who survived the bombs and bullets, nevertheless, face a really troublesome life. Supplies are unimaginable, so all the things is lacking: from meals to shopper merchandise, from medicines to medical tools for hospitals. And the scenario in Khartoum is now determined.

Doctors and sufferers at risk

“Until a few days ago – explains Giletta – we supported the Bashir hospital from El Geneina. Remotely, despite the unstable connection, we offered medical and organizational support, we provided medical equipment, computers and even medicines, but the transport difficulties were immense due to the numerous border lines that separate the areas controlled by the RSF and those by the SAF. In fact, much of the material sent did not reach its destination. However, what blocked our support for the hospital was the no longer sustainable danger to patients and medical staff. Last November 11th a patient was shot and killed inside the facility, on December 18th attackers shot inside the emergency department, directly threatening medical staff and in a previous incident a person inside the hospital she was injured due to gunshots fired from outside.” A spiral of violence that no longer allowed the presence of international personnel in the structure despite the growing need.

The population, now exhausted, is forced to move following the changes in the border lines between the two warring factions and the humanitarian workers try to follow it, adapting services to the needs of the moment, which vary from reconstructive surgery for war wounds to malnutrition, from containing the consequences of climate change to care for the chronically ill. Precious interventions in a country whose healthcare was already at its lowest and collapsed due to the war. The Doctors Without Borders team currently working in the country is 1,300 people, all national staff, but the NGO also financially supports doctors employed by the Ministry who have not received a salary for months. The scenario changes, even radically, depending on the areas of the country.

Local population fleeing

In the area of ​​El Geneina, controlled by RSF troops, there is almost no fighting, the city is full of soldiers and the population has largely fled. Food availability is scarce, but the situation is calm. “In Darfour where entry to NGOs is denied – explains Giletta -, the situation is catastrophic: food has very high prices, not accessible to families and even health is not guaranteed due to the difficulty of reaching the existing structures and the costs . In Murnei, a more peripheral and isolated area, the population is returning, but the November harvest was poor because the fields were abandoned due to the war and in addition to the people, there was a lack of economic and physical means to follow the crops”.

In this area, MSF supports the emergency room and maternity ward of the hospital, partially destroyed like 80% of the country’s health facilities, but also employs mobile clinics, with doctors, nurses and midwives who travel by car, with trips also of two or three hours, to reach the population who cannot move. “In Murnei we have 100 children under 5 years of age being treated for malnutrition, but also many mothers, with the consequence of an increase in premature births and births at risk, which are difficult to manage without operating rooms and incubators”. Areas such because the Sahel, within the south of the nation, are strongly affected by the implications of the affect of local weather change: droughts and floods type rivers that impede journey and worsen famine. Despite the unimaginable dwelling circumstances, preventing continues within the nation.