Doctors Without Borders Suspends Operations in Darfur Refugee Camp: 'These are Heartbreaking Choices'

nairobi - Doctors Without Borders (MSF) describes the situation in war-torn Sudan as the biggest humanitarian disaster in recent times, leading to the suspension of medical services in a refugee camp in Darfur.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has halted its operations in a refugee camp in Darfur due to the dire situation in war-torn Sudan, which they describe as the most neglected conflict of the moment. Claire San Filipo, a staff member stationed in a refugee camp in Chad providing medical care to refugees from Darfur, highlights the alarming numbers: half of Sudan's 49 million inhabitants are in need of humanitarian aid, eleven million are displaced, and 20,000 have lost their lives.

'We must continue to talk about this,' says San Filipo. The ongoing seventeen-month conflict between the government's SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is impacting MSF's relief efforts. The organization had to suspend its work in the ZamZam refugee camp in North Darfur. 'These are heartbreaking choices,' San Filipo comments. 'But if the RSF continues to block aid deliveries of food and medicine, we have no other option.' As a result, five thousand children in Zamzam are missing life-saving care.

Lisa Searle, an MSF nurse who just returned from Omdurman in Sudan where MSF supports the few remaining hospitals and clinics, shares the toll the work takes on her. Searle witnessed people trying to reach the hospital with their last bit of money, some not making it. 'We had a mother and child walking to the hospital not long ago,' Searle recalls. 'Two blocks away, they were hit by a grenade and died instantly.'

Seventy percent of the clinics are closed, leading to inhumane conditions in the supported clinics. 'Our staff is starting to fall ill from the stress,' Searle mentions. 'This is the most intense crisis I've worked in.' Despite the challenges, Searle finds hope in the solidarity shown by the local Sudanese helping each other, giving them the strength to persevere.

However, this glimmer of hope may need to last a while longer. Efforts to reach a ceasefire have been fruitless as the warring generals Al-Burhan and Dagalo refuse to engage in dialogue.