The NGO regrets that “the humanitarian response is deeply inadequate” and highlights the impact of the crisis on South Sudan
June 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned this Thursday that Sudan is suffering “one of the biggest global crises in recent decades” and has regretted that “the humanitarian response is deeply inadequate”, within the framework of the conflict unleashed in April 2023 between the Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“Sudan is suffering one of the worst crises the world has seen in decades. The levels of suffering are extreme throughout the country and the needs increase every day,” lamented MSF president Christos Christou in an open letter published by the organization through its account on the social network X.
Thus, he detailed that “patients die from injuries related to violence and preventable diseases” and that “boys and girls die from malnutrition” and “women, from complications during pregnancy or childbirth.”
“There have already been outbreaks of cholera and measles. And vaccines are running out. However, the humanitarian response in Sudan is totally inadequate. Both warring parties make it extremely difficult,” Christou said.
In this sense, he has stated that “the Government of Sudan deliberately denies permits for the movement of personnel and supplies across the front lines”, while “in some areas controlled by the RSF, insecurity and harassment of personnel make it extremely difficult to provide care.
“In the midst of the conflict, health structures are not free from violence either. Very few function today. This has a devastating impact on the lives of millions of people throughout the country,” he said, before highlighting that in many areas of the country there remain “very few” operational international organizations, and “in some cases, none,” due to the war.
“For a crisis of this magnitude, this is unacceptable; it cannot be allowed. This level of international negligence is scandalous,” he said, adding that “Sudan urgently needs a large-scale humanitarian response, safe humanitarian access to all areas of the country, and total respect for International Humanitarian Law”. “It is urgent to protect and assist the civilian population,” she stressed.
The non-governmental organization has also warned of the impact of the war on South Sudan and has called for an increase in aid to refugees and returnees fleeing the war, as well as the communities that host them, in the context of the crisis. humanitarian crisis in which the neighboring country is also immersed.
The war in Sudan has displaced more than ten million people, including more than 680,000 who have crossed the border into South Sudan, a country whose health system already had great difficulties and in which humanitarian aid was not enough to cover even a minimal part of the needs of the population.
MSF has given as an example the situation in Renk, located in Upper Nile and about 60 kilometers from Joda, the official entry point for people fleeing the war in Sudan. In this city, some 13,000 people are stranded in the transit center and surrounding areas, while others are waiting to return to their homes in Sudan.
BAD CONDITIONS IN TRANSIT CENTERS
Thus, he explained that the living conditions are “terrible”, given that “they barely have food, water, shelter, sanitary facilities or medical care”, while at the same time he reported that people arrive at the border after walking for weeks to reach safety and many arrive injured or severely malnourished.
“Sometimes we manage to eat twice a day, but usually we only have breakfast, and at night we go to bed with an empty stomach, even the youngest ones,” says Dak Denj, a 70-year-old pastor who has been in the center of Renk transit from December 2023.
On the other hand, thousands of refugees and returnees are in the Bulukat transit center, in Malakal, about 300 kilometers from Renk, a facility affected by shortages of food, water, shelter and adequate sanitation, which has caused a increase in diseases such as diarrhea and respiratory infections.
“The continued influx of refugees and returnees into South Sudan is likely to worsen already acute food and water shortages, both among new arrivals and in host communities, and make it even more difficult for people to access health care.” “said MSF medical coordinator in South Sudan, Eltigani Osman.
“The situation is worrying, as malnutrition increases the risk of infection, especially among children under five years of age, who are more likely to die from diseases such as meningitis, measles, yellow fever, cholera and malaria,” Osman has argued.
MSF has said that before April 2023, between 30 and 50 severely malnourished children were admitted to MSF’s malnutrition treatment hospital in the city of Malakal each month, a figure that has increased by 200 percent since the outbreak. of the war between the Sudanese Army and the RSF.
For this reason, the general coordinator of MSF in South Sudan, Iqbal Huda, has pointed out that “the humanitarian response remains insufficient given the true magnitude of the needs” and added that “it is extremely urgent for international donors to allocate funds and resources sufficient to meet the needs of returnees, refugees and host populations in South Sudan.
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