The Sudanese people cannot afford for the international community to delay taking concrete steps to dramatically improve humanitarian access and the protection of civilians in Sudan, said Dr. Tammam Aloudat, president of the board of Doctors Without Borders /Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Netherlands today, addressing a United Nations General Assembly high-level ministerial event on “The cost of inaction: Urgent and collective support to scale up the humanitarian response in Sudan and the region.”
Dr. Aloudat explained how both warring parties have continued to obstruct humanitarian access as well as attack health facilities. He called on the international community to scale up its response, and for humanitarian organizations to ensure deliveries of critical supplies and food across the country.
Excellencies, colleagues: At this same high-level event last year, it was mentioned, and bears repeating, we have warned that without concrete steps to dramatically improve humanitarian access and the protection of civilians in Sudan, a catastrophe was imminent. Here we are, a year on. While many speakers today talk about their achievements and philanthropy, our collective failure couldn’t be clearer. The crisis in Sudan has reached a critical point. As Médecins Sans Frontières continues to provide medical services across the country, we face enormous challenges.
First, humanitarian access continues to be obstructed by both warring parties. In one simple example, in North Darfur, RSF forces have prevented us from reaching Zamzam camp and providing life-saving assistance for months. [At this camp] a third of the children are acutely malnourished and over 7,000 are at the risk of death. Opening the Adre crossing [from Chad into Sudan] is a step, but it is not enough. We demand that parties to the conflict allow the unhindered delivery of medical and food supplies.
