Sudan: Bringing Healthcare Back to Conflict-Stricken Communities in Sudan
Allafrica
A brutal attack on Kreinik town, Sudan, in April 2022, left more than 200 people dead and many more injured. The town’s hospital, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), came under attack; two hospital staff and eight patients were killed, and the hospital pharmacy was looted. In December 2022, our teams returned to Kreinik to renovate the hospital. Dr Prince Mathew, MSF project coordinator, takes up the story.
“West Darfur in Sudan is very volatile and Kreinik has been particularly affected by violence over recent years. What looks to be very calm today can be incredibly violent tomorrow. Violence affects everyone, regardless of where they are from.
Kreinik town today is a burned-out spectre after last year’s attack. Hundreds of houses were completely burned down. Many people live in densely populated displacement camps surrounding the hospital. Public spaces and schools are now filled with hundreds of tents and makeshift shelters. The only water supply is by donkey carts.
People in both the town and rural areas face difficulties getting to markets to buy food. On market days there have been attacks on people coming into town. In the days following such violence, the situation in the area remains volatile and tense.
Many farming communities are also unable to access their farming lands located outside the area where they live, while pastoralist communities are unable to graze their cattle, which is essential for their livelihoods. Along with 300 per cent inflation in Sudan, this situation has made life incredibly difficult.
An MSF team returned to Kreinik after the attack, running mobile clinics in the villages and nomadic settlements surrounding the town. We are seeing increasing numbers of malnourished children coming to our mobile clinics, many of whom we refer to El Geneina or Kreinik hospital.
What looks to be very calm today can be incredibly violent tomorrow. Violence affects everyone, regardless of where they are from. Dr Prince Mathew, MSF project coordinator