KHARTOUM/NEW YORK, April 27, 2023—Despite ongoing violence in Sudan, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team in the capital, Khartoum, has so far donated medical supplies to three health facilities that are treating wounded people.
Dr. Ghazali Babiker, MSF's acting country director in Sudan, gave this account of how he and his team had to take cover when aerial bombardments and shelling began nearby while they were loading supplies to donate to a hospital.
Today our team was trying to assess the situation and also the roads to have access to different hospitals. When we were doing the donation, we wanted to accompany the MOH [Ministry of Health] team who came to our warehouse to get the donation. They received the donation, and unfortunately there were clashes close to the warehouse, our warehouse, and there was aerial bombarding. It was very close, and we had to seek shelter and try to postpone the movement until everything is clear.
Then we gave a donation to one hospital in Khartoum, it's called Turkish Hospital. This hospital ... following the closure of many of the hospitals close to the front lines, has been one of the hospitals receiving civilians and wounded patients as the health system is collapsing and many hospitals are going out of service. This hospital remained one of those in the south-of-center Khartoum open with the minimum capacity, trying to give services to the wounded people.
That's why as MSF we choose to support a hospital, and it's not the first time. This is our third donation that we have given to different hospitals. Prior to that we gave a donation to an advanced post in the Mamura area, and also another support was given to another hospital called Bashair Hospital. So we continue being committed to stand beside ... to be hand by hand with the MOH [Ministry of Health] and the Sudanese population during this difficult situation.... To make sure that also we save some lives in this chaotic situation.
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