For three years, Sudan has been torn apart by a civil war of unprecedented scale and violence. Thirteen million people have been displaced, forced to flee the fighting. Doctors of the World is raising the alarm about the urgency of the situation and launching operations in Darfur, in the west of the country.
Darfur is among the areas most severely impacted by the consequences of the conflict. Millions of displaced people in arid, hard-to-reach areas are surviving in catastrophic conditions. The population faces famine—with nearly 5 million children and pregnant or breastfeeding women suffering from acute malnutrition—and epidemics, while 80% of primary healthcare services are no longer functioning.
To address this dramatic situation, Doctors of the World has taken over the full management of a clinic in the Dar Omo displaced persons camp, which shelters 45,000 people. In this geographically isolated area, marked by major logistical constraints, Doctors of the World is one of the few organizations maintaining an active presence.
“Since the clinic opened, Doctors of the World has been conducting nearly 200 consultations per day, mainly for primary healthcare: nutrition, vaccination. Currently, 50% of pediatric consultations are for preventable conditions such as pneumonia or diarrhea.”
“We are also preparing to manage epidemics such as measles or cholera, which is endemic in this region during the rainy season from June to September,” explains Marie Laure HERDHUIN, Head of Emergency Operations for Doctors of the World.
With over 80 national employees, the clinic thus enables access to primary healthcare, access to sexual and reproductive healthcare , prevention and response to epidemics and mental health care.