Sudan, 2023. © MSF
View of a hallway at Umdawanban hospital. Sudan, 2023. © MSF
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Sudan has long struggled with a fragile healthcare system, and the ongoing conflict has brought it crashing down. I have been supporting Doctors Without Borders teams in two hospitals in Khartoum State and another one in Um Rakuba refugee camp in the east for the past months.
When people think about medical needs in a conflict, often they think about people injured by bombs or bullets. But I’ve also seen growing numbers of medical emergencies caused by complications from untreated chronic diseases. People who might have successfully managed diabetes or asthma for years are now unable to find the medications they need to live.
The need for maternity care is also striking, especially for pregnant women requiring C-sections or emergency deliveries. That is why in Umdawnban, one of the hospitals I have covered, our team has been supporting the maternity team, assisting in over 1500 births since last July.
But across the country, many maternity services have not been regularly functioned, leaving pregnant women facing life-threatening complications without access to emergency obstetric care. And where healthcare services are available, the quality of care remains a concern.
Sudan, 2023. © MSF
More is needed
As a citizen and as a doctor, I feel deep alarm when I consider the growing health needs in my homeland. Some of these pre-dates the conflict, but all of them are worsened by it. Sudan has a troubling history of outbreaks such as measles and meningitis. These highly contagious diseases can be prevented through vaccination, but without they can be fatal, especially in young children. One fact that puts children particularly at risk is malnutrition, which impairs the immune system.
With the collapse of the healthcare system and hundreds of thousands of people now having fled the violence, often living in crowded makeshift camps, large scale vaccination programmes and nutritional support are more than crucial – they are a potential lifeline.
Determination
In Sudan, most of the areas Doctors Without Borders is operating in remain active battle zones. This makes our work incredibly challenging and dangerous, but it also makes us more determined.
The determination I mention here isn't solely focused on Doctors Without Borders; I extend it to the communities that come together to support each other. For instance, in Um Rakuba camp, in the east of Sudan, Doctors Without Borders provides desperately needed humanitarian care to thousands of people who live in and around the refugee camp. When the conflict erupted, it was unclear if it would be possible to continue our support there, but with the determination of a core team, there has been no gap in the service.
Last year we delivered 40,000 medical consultations to refugees as well as to the host community and assisted 507 women to give birth safely. Our determination is shared: in Um Rakuba I’ve seen first-hand the important role local volunteers and community midwives are playing.
Determination is not enough…
But sometimes determination isn’t enough. My sacred oath as a doctor is to do all that I can for people who need medical care. And in my role as an Doctors Without Borders deputy medical coordinator, that means not only treating individual patients, but also coordinating care on a larger scale, ensuring that staff and supplies are where they are needed most.
But how do I hold onto my pledge in a situation when resources and helping hands are impeded and exposed to dangers? This question echoes in my thoughts both day and night.
It’s now a matter of life and death that all parties to this conflict recognize Doctors Without Borders' sole purpose: to offer medical care to the most vulnerable, free of charge. We need access as well as safeguard for our teams and supplies as much as for patients, not tomorrow, but now. The lives we strive to save depend on it.
A part of me
My work in Sudan, my country, is not just a job; it's a part of my humanity. And my ethical duty is that I, like my colleagues in Doctors Without Borders, do all we can to relieve suffering in the face of conflict.
And I remain dedicated to this cause.
About Doctors Without Borders in Sudan:
Currently, Doctors Without Borders teams work in 11 states: Khartoum, Al-Jazeera, White Nile, Blue Nile, River Nile, Al Gedaref, West Darfur, North Darfur, Central Darfur, South Darfur and Port Sudan state. We are also providing assistance to refugees and returnees across Sudan´s borders in South Sudan, Central African Republic and Chad.
