Doctors Without Borders calls for global action with humanitarian crisis in South Darfur
South Darfur, a state in Sudan, is currently grappling with one of the world’s most critical humanitarian crises, according to the NGO Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF). The organisation, active in several hospitals in the region, has reported "shocking figures" concerning deaths among pregnant women, new mothers and young children. These deaths, many of which are preventable, have prompted MSF to call on the United Nations for urgent support.
“Between January and August, 46 women died in the Nyala Teaching Hospital and the Kas Rural Hospital, where MSF teams provide obstetric care,” MSF noted in a press release. By contrast, in the Netherlands, only about eleven maternal deaths occur annually, underscoring the severe conditions in South Darfur.
The high mortality rates are largely due to the collapse of the healthcare system. “The lack of functioning health facilities and unaffordable transport costs mean that many women arrive at the hospital in critical condition,” MSF explains. As a result, most deaths happen within 24 hours of admission. Thousands of children are also at risk of starvation or death from diseases that are easily preventable in more stable settings.
Dr Gillian Burkhardt, working at Nyala Hospital in South Darfur, describes the situation as unprecedented in her career. “This is a crisis unlike any I have ever experienced in my career,” she says. “There are multiple emergencies happening simultaneously, and the UN is barely responding. Many deaths could have been prevented.”
The ongoing civil war in the Darfur region has driven most aid agencies away, and even the UN has withdrawn its international staff from Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. MSF stresses the need for immediate global intervention. “To address this crisis, the United Nations must accelerate the return of staff and agencies and use all its resources and political influence to get aid to those affected. Only a coordinated international response, supported by sufficient funding and continued pressure on the warring parties, can prevent mass starvation and alleviate the suffering of millions of people,” the MSF states.
©PHOTO ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN / UNAMID / AFP
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