In the Darfur region, where the violence has taken an ethnic dimension, between 70 to 80 percent of health facilities are no longer functioning due to the lack of critical supplies and medical staff. There is a widespread shortage of critical supplies such as vaccines, nutrition commodities, and HIV medications, as well as a poor disease surveillance system. At the same time, overcrowded and dire conditions in gathering sites and camps exacerbate the risk of disease outbreaks, while people with chronic conditions are struggling to access the care and medicines they need to survive.
Sudan
In April 2023, intense fighting broke out across Sudan, including Khartoum and the Darfur region. MSF teams are providing medical care for people affected by this latest surge of conflict and other crises.
Sudan: MSF staff member killed by shelling in El Fasher
May 26, 2024—A staff member of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was killed yesterday, May 25, in El Fasher, Sudan, after shelling hit his house near the city's main market.
The staff member was a watchman at MSF's pharmacy in El Fasher and was off duty at the time. He was taken directly to the city's South Hospital for treatment, but sadly passed away from his injuries. We offer our deepest condolences to his family.
El Fasher is the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state. Intense fighting has taken a heavy toll in the city since May 10 as the Sudanese Armed Forces and Joint Forces battle the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that now controls most of the Darfur region.
Multiple staff members of MSF also lost family members or homes due to shelling yesterday in El Fasher. We urge the warring parties to do more to protect civilians, who—like our valued colleague—are among those losing their lives.
The numbers of people killed and wounded are increasing each day as intense fighting continues. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, we have supported South Hospital in treating 979 wounded people since the fighting began, of whom 134 have died.
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Our work in Sudan
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to respond to multiple health issues during a turbulent year in Sudan, where the health care system is on the verge of collapse amid a devastating, ongoing conflict.
What's happening in Sudan?
For a year, large parts of Sudan have been experiencing ongoing violence, including intense urban warfare, gunfire, shelling, and airstrikes. The health system, already fragile before the conflict started, is struggling to cope with existing and emerging medical needs while facing overwhelming pressure from the destruction and looting of health facilities, acute shortages of utilities and medical supplies, and under-resourced health staff who are overworked without pay. As a result, people face significant challenges accessing medical care throughout the country. By the time many are able to access care, their condition has become critical.
How we're helping in Sudan
MSF teams in Sudan provide emergency treatment, surgical care, mobile clinics for displaced people, treatment for communicable and non-communicable diseases, maternal and pediatric health care, water and sanitation services, and donations of medicines and medical supplies to health care facilities. We also provide incentive pay, training, and logistical support to Ministry of Health staff who have gone overworked and underpaid for months, and we continue some of our medical activities that were in place before the start of the war.
How we're helping
586,800
Outpatient consultations
4,260
Children admitted to inpatient feeding programs
350
Tons of medical supplies delivered
1,950
Births assisted
230
Newborns admitted to hospitals
*Data from MSF International Activity Report 2022