How MSF is responding to the crisis in Sudan

Large parts of Sudan have been gripped by violence since April 15, including gunfire, shelling, and airstrikes. Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) teams on the ground report that hospitals are overwhelmed, and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety. Many others, including health care workers, are trapped by the fighting.

Pressure on hospitals is intense, as many have been damaged or face shortages of supplies. In many regions patients and staff alike are unable to reach the few health facilities that still function. As a result, many people are cut off from medical care at a time when they need it most.

Sudan: MSF responds to medical needs and prepares to scale up activities

Khartoum

Since April 23, MSF teams have been able to make donations to five health facilities in Khartoum to help them continue functioning and providing medical care. This includes delivering 10 tons of life-saving medical supplies to Jabra Hospital to treat the wounded in Khartoum. In addition, an MSF surgical team has arrived in Port Sudan, and is immediately moving to areas of the country where their skills are needed to provide urgent medical care, such as Khartoum.

Sudan: Donating medical supplies amid fighting in Khartoum

El Fasher

In El Fasher, North Darfur State, the MSF-supported hospital is now the only one that remains operational in the city. The teams are working around the clock to treat the injured. So far, 427 people have made it to the hospital for treatment, and 89 have died from their injuries.

Scenes from El Fasher hospital. Sudan 2023 © MSF/Mohamed Gibreel Adam

Wad Madani

An MSF team started running mobile clinic activities in Wad Madani on May 2. We distributed hygiene and non-food items to displaced people in the region, prioritizing the most vulnerable, who are currently sheltering in public buildings. We are also supporting Kamlin hospital, which has been designated as referral hospital for patients from Khartoum affected by the violence. These activities will continue while we assess the need for additional activities to respond to the health and humanitarian needs of displaced people in this area.

MSF continues to provide care in Sudan

MSF-supported facilities continue to provide medical care in Kreinik, western Darfur; in Rokero, central Darfur; in Um Rakuba and Tinedba, Al-Gedaref state; and in Damazin, in Blue Nile State. In some other parts of the country, fighting has forced us to suspend some operations. In Nyala, southern Darfur, our compound and warehouse were looted.

MSF has not left and does not plan to leave Sudan. We continue to assess where and how we can scale up and expand our response, to new areas where needs are clear and we are able to use capacity and supplies already in the country, while additional supplies and staff arrive. We remain committed to providing much-needed health care to people in Sudan, especially during these challenging moments. But to do so, we need to be able to ensure safety and security for our staff and patients, and we must be able to bring in and move supplies and people to places where they are needed most.

Our thoughts are with our Sudanese colleagues, patients, and civilians who are trapped in this conflict. We reiterate our calls to all parties to the conflict to avoid civilian areas and to spare civilian lives.   

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