Posted on 23 May, 2012
100,000 People Without Essential Health Care in North Darfur
MSF Forced to Suspend Lifesaving Medical Activities After Restrictions Imposed on Its Work
As a result of increasing restrictions imposed by Sudanese authorities, MSF has been forced to suspend most of its medical activities in the Jebel Si region of North Darfur State in Sudan.
Increasing obstacles over the past year led to the suspension of MSF’s activities. No shipments of drugs or medical supplies have been authorized since September 2011, and MSF has encountered growing difficulties obtaining work and travel permits for its staff. Transport options to and from Jebel Si have also been drastically reduced. MSF has been the sole health provider in the region.
“With the reduction of our activities in Jebel Si, more than 100,000 people in the region are left entirely without health care,” said Alberto Cristina, MSF operational manager for Sudan. “If we are not allowed to deliver medicines and supplies to our hospital and health posts soon, disease outbreaks are likely to occur, and maternal and prenatal deaths are likely to increase and may even reach emergency levels.”
Photo: Mothers and children at an MSF facility in Jebel Si, where obstacles threaten MSF’s continued operation
Sudan 2012 © MSF
MSF Treats Bomb-Blast Victims in Yemen
The cities of Jaar, Lawdar, and Aden in southern Yemen, where health facilities are receiving increasing numbers of patients injured in conflict.
Since May 12, MSF teams have received increasing numbers of patients admitted to health facilities in Jaar, Lawdar, and Aden, following a new wave of violence and fighting around Zinjibar, capital of Abyan Governorate, and Lawdar, 100 miles northeast of Zinjibar. Eight severely injured people were transferred to Aden from an emergency health post in Jaar, while 43 people were treated at Lawdar Hospital. All patients are civilians suffering from bomb-blast injuries. MSF staff at Lawdar have been unable to refer patients to other health facilities as road blockages have made travel impossible.
MSF is extremely concerned about the fate of civilians caught in the current fighting and calls on all parties to protect the civilian population and allow access to health facilities.
2012 © Google
A young girl walks through the early-morning fog outside the perimeter of the hospital.
Before the opening of the MSF surgical hospital in Kunduz Province, northern Afghanistan, people in the region suffering from severe injuries had two options. They made the long and dangerous journey to Kabul or Pakistan, or they visited an expensive private clinic. As a result, few patients received the trauma care they needed.
In less than a year, the MSF trauma center, equipped with an emergency room, two operating theaters, and an intensive care unit, has seen more than 3,700 patients. The majority are victims of so-called “general trauma"—road traffic accidents, domestic violence, or civilian gunshot wounds.
More photos: Trauma Care Where There Was None in Northern Afghanistan
Photos: Afghanistan 2012 © Michael Goldfarb/MSF