Escalating violence in Sudan’s largest displacement camp has forced Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to suspend its critical medical operations in Zamzam camp, leaving over half a million people without essential healthcare.
Humanitarian crisis deepens as violence escalates in Zamzam camp
Zamzam, situated in the northern region of Darfur, is a camp area that is home to over 500,000 displaced individuals. Currently, it has become a battleground between the RSF, the Sudanese army, and several civilians fighting for control.
The worsening humanitarian crises were further treated on February 11th when the RSF forces attacked an already troubled camp. MSF relayed the announcement on Friday about the safety guarantee for its staff, patients, and medical units no longer being active.
“Even with dire humanitarian assistance needed coupled with starvation, we are left with no choice but to suspend our activities in the camp, inclusive of the MSF field hospital,” the organization claimed.
The immediate consequences have been disastrous. Since February, MSF’s facility has witnessed the treatment of gunshot wounds, shrapnel wounds, and severe trauma with an increase of 139 patients. The lack of trauma medical assistance, coupled with the inability to transfer said individuals to a better-equipped facility, resulted in eleven patient deaths, with five of them being children.
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Famine and the collapses within the health system
The state of Zamzam has been worsening for many months now. According to information, the camp was reported as famine-struck in the month of August 2024 and currently, the crisis has been expanding to other displacement camps located near El-Fasher.
A United Nations-backed assessment states that famine may affect five more areas by May.
MSF started working in Zamzam to treat cases of severe malnutrition, however, the escalation of violence renders these areas impossible to operate in. The transportation of critically ill patients to El-Fasher has become more and more precarious, as MSF themselves state that their ambulances were fired upon during December and January.
“Stopping all works in progress amidst an ongoing disaster in Zamzam is a devastating choice one has to make,” said MSF head of mission in Sudan, Yahya Kalilah.
He stated, as well, that the people in the camp are placed in almost cages, where they STARVE and are bombarded over and over again, all of this amid a helpless healthcare system.
The war in Sudan has caused the displacement of many millions of people and with 80% of conflict zone hospitals out of service, further exacerbating the situation, people have no access to essential medical care. The withdrawal of MSF from Zamzam is yet another grave consequence for people who are afflicted with a broken country.