from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – TUESDAY marks 500 days since Sudan began enduring its worst humanitarian crisis yet.
This has been described as a shameful moment for international humanitarian organisations and donors, who for over 16 months, have failed to provide adequate response to the country’s escalating medical needs, from catastrophic child malnutrition to widespread disease outbreaks.
Restrictions imposed by warring parties have also drastically limited capacities.
Fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which started in the capital Khartoum on April 15, 2023, has been raging across several parts of the country, triggering an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
The conflict has left tens of thousands of people killed or injured.
Between April 2023 and June 2024, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said it treated 11 985 war-wounded patients at supported hospitals.
The violence has created the world’s largest displacement crisis. Over 10 million people, or one in five people in Sudan, have been forced to flee their homes, many of them facing repeated displacement, according to the United Nations.
“Today children are dying of malnutrition across Sudan. The help they most urgently need is barely coming through and, when it does, it is often blocked,” says Tuna Turkmen, MSF emergency coordinator in Darfur.
In July, trucks with MSF supplies in two different locations in Darfur were blocked from reaching their destination. Two trucks were held by RSF, and one was seized by unknown armed men.
The conflict has put nearly 80 percent of the health facilities out of service, according to the World Health Organization.
– CAJ News