Sudan: Doctors Without Borders is forced to stop working at the only functioning hospital in Wad Madani

Published: May 8, 2024Updated: May 8, 2024

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was forced to stop work and withdraw staff from the Madani Teaching Hospital, the only functioning hospital for hundreds of thousands of people in need of urgent medical attention in the capital of Sudan’s Al Jazirah state. This extremely difficult decision comes after more than three months of relentless challenges trying to provide care at the hospital, including growing uncertainty; the inability to bring new personnel and medical supplies to the region due to a lack of travel authorizations; and repeated security incidents such as looting and harassment that impact our ability to provide medical care.

MSF calls on the warring parties to stop violating health facilities, ensure the safety of medical personnel and issue the necessary travel authorizations for our personnel and supplies.

“The health system and basic services in Al Jazirah state have collapsed as a result of the fighting and the systematic blockage of the flow of supplies and personnel to the area,” said Mari Carmen Viñoles, Médecins Sans Frontières mission director in Sudan. “Doctors Without Borders was the only international NGO that provided support in Wad Madani. Our departure leaves a deep void for people who struggle to access healthcare and live in a very unsafe environment without transportation to get around.”

In mid-December, fighting reached Wad Madani – the capital of Al Jazirah state, located about 136 kilometers southeast of Khartoum – forcing at least 630,000 people to flee Al Jazirah to other parts of Sudan, according to the International Organization for Migration (1). Many of them had already been displaced. At the end of the month, MSF evacuated all staff from Wad Madani after the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the town, which had until then been controlled by the government-led Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

By January 13, MSF was able to send a team back to Wad Madani, where several hundred thousand people remained, once one of Sudan’s most populous cities.

Since then, MSF has supported the emergency room, operating room, maternity ward, inpatient department – ​​including pediatrics, therapeutic nutrition center and adult and surgical wards – and pharmacy at Madani Teaching Hospital. We also provided psychological support and support for sexual violence. MSF also provided training, salary incentives for 240 Ministry of Health (MoH) staff and food for patients.

Between mid-January and the end of April, MSF conducted almost 10,000 outpatient consultations – malaria was the most common disease treated -, 2,142 antenatal consultations and cared for 16 survivors of sexual violence. During this period there was a constant flow of patients to the emergency department, with a total of 2,981 patients admitted. A significant number of these admissions involved physical injuries resulting from the ongoing violence.

MSF has now stopped all support to the facility and we have relocated our staff to safer areas in Sudan. Over the last three months, our team and supported Ministry of Health staff have repeatedly faced security incidents either carried out or tolerated by the RSF, including looting of the hospital, stolen vehicles and arrest of staff, among numerous other incidents and pressures. Since January, Sudanese authorities have persistently refused travel permits to bring new personnel and medical and logistical supplies to the city.

“Although the humanitarian and medical needs in Wad Madani and Al Jazirah are immense, we have no choice but to immediately stop our work and leave the area,” says Viñoles.

Médecins Sans Frontières stands ready to once again support the Madani Teaching Hospital in supporting the people of Al Jazirah if the warring parties commit to respecting our medical work and ensuring safe and uninterrupted access to the area. Médecins Sans Frontières calls on the RSF to stop violating medical facilities and ensure the safety of the Ministry of Health and Médecins Sans Frontières staff. Médecins Sans Frontières also calls on the Sudanese government-led military and civilian authorities to issue the necessary travel authorizations for our personnel and supplies.

MSF currently works in and supports more than 30 health facilities in nine states in Sudan: Khartoum, White and Blue Nile, Al Gedaref, West Darfur, North, South and Central Darfur and Red Sea. We run programs in both SAF and RSF controlled areas. Our teams also provide trauma care, maternal and pediatric care, and malnutrition treatment, among other healthcare services. MSF teams are also supporting Sudanese refugees and returnees in South Sudan and eastern Chad.

(1) One year of conflict in Sudan: Visualizing the world’s largest displacement crisis | Displacement tracking matrix (iom.int)