The war in Sudan has turned hospitals into battlefields and left millions without access to basic healthcare. While the UN and many other actors have withdrawn, we are left almost alone to meet the overwhelming needs. Millions of human lives are at risk, why is it so quiet? I recently returned from fieldwork in Zalingei, the main town of Central Darfur, in western Sudan. There I worked as logistics manager at the state’s largest hospital. When MSF arrived at the hospital a few months ago, almost all departments were out of order due to intense warfare and regular looting. The buildings bore clear marks from gunshot wounds and hits with rocket-propelled grenades. Ceiling tiles had fallen down, and even the hospital beds were missing. Out on the ground lay empty shell casings – a gruesome reminder that the hospital, whose neutrality must never be broken, had become a battlefield. Millions lack basic health services Since the violent war broke out in Sudan over a year ago, hospitals have been systematically affected. In the conflict areas, only 20–30 per cent of the health facilities are still in operation. Hospitals have been looted and bombed, health workers killed and harassed, and patients evacuated under relentless attacks. Every hospital that goes out of business means a lack of life-saving help for thousands of people in need. Today, two out of three Sudanese are without access to basic health services. Over 11 million people are displaced in the country and 25.6 million, half of Sudan’s population, are in a hunger crisis. The hospital in Zalingei was looted and destroyed when Doctors Without Borders arrived on the scene. The picture shows the remains of the surgical ward. Photo: Juan Carlos Tomasi / MSF Doctors Without Borders’ priority in Zalingei was to revive the destroyed hospital as quickly as possible. In a short time, the emergency department, maternity ward, children’s ward and malnutrition ward were put into operation. The hospital began to fill up again with patients. It was nice to see, it gave a glimmer of hope. When children are not allowed to be children One evening we admitted three children to the emergency department. One had only minor physical injuries, the second was seriously injured, and the third was in a critical condition and had lost a hand. We learned that the children had been playing with an unexploded grenade they had found in the neighbourhood. Because even in war, children want to play, discover the world and be curious – to be children. As the surgical department was still out of order, we could not treat the patient with life-threatening injuries in the best possible way. The security situation and the military checkpoints made it too dangerous to transport the child to another hospital in the dark. Although we knew that prompt treatment could mean the difference between life and death, we had to wait. Postponement of treatment can be life-threatening not only for war casualties, but also for women in labour, small children affected by malaria, malnutrition and cancer patients. When the healthcare system collapses, as is happening in Sudan before our eyes, countless lives are lost to diseases that could otherwise have been prevented and treated. Not enough For humanitarian workers in Sudan, the feeling of not being enough is constantly present. The needs are overwhelming. On the way to Zalingei, we drove past a refugee camp that was set up after the outbreak of war. In the camp, thousands of people live in flimsy straw huts made of whatever they have been able to find, because they have not been given so much as a tarpaulin. Health services are completely absent. With the onset of the rainy season, I can only imagine how the camp will be transformed into a mud bath of collapsed huts, and how contagious diseases will be rampant. This could have been avoided if more actors had been present. Where are you, UN? Perhaps the worst thing about experiencing the situation in Darfur now is the knowledge that this is taking place outside the rest of the world’s attention. The crisis in Sudan is one of the worst we have seen in decades. Nevertheless, we at Doctors Without Borders feel that we are almost alone in responding to the enormous needs. Humanitarian access to Darfur is extremely difficult, and even the UN has not returned to the region after evacuating over a year ago. As a result, large parts of the needs for emergency aid remain without any form of response. It is vital to get other actors in place in the region. Without the UN and several humanitarian organizations with sufficient capacity, it will be impossible to fill the void. In May, the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch think tank, published a report warning that 2.5 million people in Sudan could die of hunger-related causes by the end of September 2024. There has been far too quiet and far too little response to the war in Sudan so far. The international community can no longer passively wait for this unimaginable scenario to become reality. Published 10.07.2024, at 10.15
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One of the worst crises in decades – Expression
