Remove obstacles on delivery of medical supplies in Sudan: MSF

October 12, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The medical charity, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Thursday called on Sudanese authorities to remove the administrative obstacles they place on medical and humanitarian teams as well as supplies.

Since April 15, 2023, the war in Sudan has disrupted 70% of healthcare facilities and exacerbated the effects of infectious diseases on the country’s already fragile healthcare system.

The medical charity, at a press conference held in Sudan, urged authorities to “remove administrative obstacles to medical and humanitarian teams and supplies, and to allow people to obtain aid without obstacles.”

MSF’s humanitarian response is hampered by significant bureaucratic and administrative hurdles imposed by the authorities, including restrictions on staff movements, travel permit refusals, delays in allowing medical supplies and supplies to cross, and bans on surgical supplies.

The organization stressed that the healthcare system is struggling to cope with overcrowding in emergency rooms, as large numbers of people with life-threatening injuries arrive at hospitals, leaving medical staff with no treatment options other than amputation.

Sudan suffers from a severe shortage of medicines, while the prices of those available are disproportionate to the income of most Sudanese, most of whom have lost their jobs and businesses.

MSF commented on this extreme scarcity of medicines, saying that “many medicines are not affordable for people who need them, and as a result: patients with chronic diseases suffer from serious complications and sometimes die.”

The medical charity reported that millions of displaced people live in overcrowded camps, having been displaced from their homes due to violence. In these camps, people, including children, are dying from preventable diseases such as malaria and measles due to the inadequate humanitarian response.

5.8 million people have fled their homes to escape violence, including 4.6 million internally displaced people living in 4,647 temporary sites in dire humanitarian conditions due to outbreaks of infectious diseases and limited relief supplies.

MSF warned that the destruction or insufficiency of water networks in the capital, Khartoum, increases the risk of a cholera outbreak, stressing its inability to provide services in an area in southern Sudan after less than a week, when basic supplies ran out.

“Any supplies that reach healthcare facilities are quickly depleted, leading to serious health consequences and even deaths,” said Claire Nicolet, the deputy head of the organization’s emergency department.

Nicolet emphasized that MSF urgently needs surgical and medical equipment to care for severely injured people and perform surgical deliveries.

MSF provides treatment to Sudanese in emergency situations, performs surgical operations, manages mobile clinics for displaced people, treats infectious and non-communicable diseases, and provides health care for mothers and children.

(MSF)