KHARTOUM/NEW YORK, October 12, 2023—Six months since war erupted between rival armed forces in Sudan, a shamefully inadequate response to medical needs is worsening an already catastrophic situation, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today, calling for humanitarian organizations to increase their response and for the warring parties to allow unhindered access.
The World Health Organization has said that 70 percent of Sudan's medical facilities are no longer functioning, and MSF staff report that emergency rooms are now severely overburdened in multiple locations. In Khartoum alone, MSF teams witness the intensity of the conflict on a daily basis, as many people present with life-threatening wounds, often leaving no choice but to amputate.
"Sudan’s crisis epitomizes a catastrophic failure of humanity, marked by the warring parties’ failure to protect civilians or facilitate essential humanitarian access, and by the dire neglect and shortcomings of international organizations in delivering an adequate response," Dr. Christos Christou, MSF international president, said today. "Without an immediate, substantial escalation of the humanitarian response, what we are witnessing now will be the beginning of an even larger tragedy yet to unfold—meaning more people will continue to needlessly die."
MSF's own humanitarian response is being hindered by considerable bureaucratic and administrative hurdles imposed by Sudanese authorities. These include restrictions on movements of staff, travel permit rejections, delays in releasing medical supplies and bans on specific supplies, such as supplies for surgery. In southern Khartoum one of the hospitals supported by MSF has less than one week's worth of essential supplies to provide emergency trauma care to injured patients. Once these supplies run out, MSF teams will no longer be able to provide this care.
