Between humanitarian crises and medical emergencies: all the latest news

On 2 June, a total of 72 wounded people from Sudan have been treated at the hospital in Adré, eastern Chad, by Médecins Sans Frontières in partnership with the local health authorities. This is as a result of violence and fighting that has raged in Darfur and other regions of Sudan for more than six weeks and has led to almost a hundred thousand people fleeing to Chad since April 15.

More funding is urgently needed to avert a looming health catastrophe in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps, warns international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) today. A cholera outbreak in the camps has affected 2,786 people so far and there is an imminent risk of outbreaks of other gastro-intestinal diseases, warns MSF, which is calling for immediate action from donors and aid agencies to address the unsanitary conditions and overcrowding in the camps.

In Sudan, staff and patients are repeatedly facing the trauma of armed groups entering and looting MSF premises with medicines, supplies and vehicles being stolen. This shocking disregard for humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law has impeded our ability to provide healthcare to people at a time when it is desperately needed.

More people than ever recorded are currently forcibly displaced from their homes by conflict, human rights violations, climate change, and the economic consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across Europe, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to witness people fleeing crisis being left to drown at sea, intercepted and pushed back at borders, denied humanitarian assistance, and criminalized for seeking safety.

On May 11, when the Biden administration ends the COVID-19 public health emergency nationally, Title 42, a public health order used to shut down asylum at the US southern border for more than three years, officially comes to an end.

In just two weeks, more than 670 victims of sexual violence have been treated by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams in camps for displaced people around Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, representing 48 new victims per day. These shocking figures reflect the extreme vulnerability and risk of violence faced by displaced people in the area. Nearly 60% of the victims were attacked less than 72 hours before coming to MSF clinics, illustrating the urgency of the situation.

Burkina Faso is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has seen 1.99 million internally displaced people flee violence perpetrated by jihadist groups (OCHA, 31 March 2023). The northern town of Djibo has now been under blockade by non-state armed groups for over a year and remains largely cut off from food and aid.

War in Sudan has put a strain on an already fragile health system. Dr Khalid Elsheikh Ahmedana reports on the situation in Khartoum, the country's capital.

In 2020, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) opened a clinic in Beirut providing migrant domestic workers with free-of-charge health consultations and specialist mental health support. Three years later, MSF teams continue to see the impact of the Kafala system on people’s living and working conditions as well as on their physical and mental health.

MSF supported facilities continue to provide medical care in Sudan, in Kreinik, West Darfur, in Rokero, Central Darfur, in Um Rakuba and Tinedba, Gedaref state and in Damazin, Blue Nile State. In El Fasher, North Darfur State, the MSF supported hospital continues to receive large numbers of wounded people. The teams are working around the clock to treat the injured – 410 people have so far made it to the hospital for treatment, the only health facility operational in the city and around 55 conflict-related deaths have been recorded. MSF was also able to make donations of supplies in Khartoum.