Sudan: “The conflict broke out the day I wanted to go home”

“My luggage was packed, my fridge and cupboards were empty, and I only had a few hours to get to the airport. After a year in Sudan Fly home. Last Saturday I thought I had mine Karthum is the last day to spend But when I was having my breakfast, around 8:30, I suddenly heard a shot outside.

Everyone in the guest house rushed to the basement A bunker of sorts located. Along with more than ten colleagues, I spent the day sitting on the floor. Outsiders Loud gunshots, the sound of low-flying planes and the crash after airstrikes startled us again and again. The walls shook and small windows rattled at the eerie sound that echoed around the room. Often there is a lull after a thunderclap, but it does not last long.”

“Unable to treat the wounded”

“Instead of going to the airport and going home, I spent the night on the ground surrounded by my colleagues. I thought of the people trapped in the airport where there was heavy fighting. I could have been among them. Some were injured, but the injured could not leave the airport for medical attention. All my Sudanese colleagues and the people of Khartoum. I thought of everyone.”

“Unlike me, most of them have no chance of sleeping in a shelter – with emergency supplies of water and food. Today is the sixth day of fighting on the streets of the densely populated city of nearly ten million people. Food, water and fuel are becoming scarce and people are facing great risks to get supplies from shops. , they are already severely limited.

“It’s very sad”

“When I hear the devastation outside, read about the dead, the injured and the sick who cannot even go to a functioning hospital in the capital, it makes me incredibly sad. Sudan and people are caught in the middle of fighting between armed factions in their own country. People are trying to somehow get food, water, medicine and medical supplies – this is in the first few days since the fighting started.

The consequences and impact on already limited access to humanitarian aid will be absolutely dramatic. For a year, I assessed humanitarian needs in Sudan and documented the impact of current undersupply on the health and nutrition of Sudanese people, particularly children.

Because of the fighting, life-saving aid could not be administered

“A colleague of mine who is currently stuck in Khartoum with me, a nurse and a trainer, went to El Jenina in West Darfur to work at an MSF-supported hospital, looking after severely malnourished and sick children. A psychologist from Médecins Sans Frontières who works in El Jenina hospital is stuck in Khartoum because of the fighting. , they may not all be able to return anytime soon to provide life-saving assistance.

Groups in West Darfur report unusually low numbers of patients in hospitals. This shows that people do not want to leave their homes and seek hospital care because of the fighting. Experience shows that cases of malnutrition in El Jenina peak in early May – just ten days.

“Millions of children face dire consequences”

“If humanitarian and health workers are unable to do their jobs and patients are afraid to go to hospital, millions of children and other vulnerable people in Sudan face serious health consequences. The Sudanese people were in a humanitarian crisis before the fighting broke out.

A third of the population was at risk of starvation before the current conflict. The situation across the country is expected to worsen further. “Doctors Without Borders” therefore calls on all parties involved in the conflict to ensure the safety of medical workers and patients so that they can reach health facilities without fearing for their lives.”

* Camille Marquis from France spent a year in Sudan as an advocacy manager for Doctors Without Borders.