Médecins Sans Frontières, the medical charity, has halted critical surgical procedures at a Khartoum hospital due to the Sudanese military’s obstruction of vital medical supplies entering the city.
MSF has reported being denied authorization to transport supplies from warehouses located in Wad Madani, situated in Al Jazirah state, to hospitals in the southern regions of the capital since September 8th.
On Thursday, the charitable organization disclosed that the Bashair teaching hospital has exhausted its medication and essential supplies, rendering the medical team unable to carry out trauma surgeries or perform caesarean sections.
It said it was withdrawing its surgical team.
Sudan descended into a tumultuous crisis in April when conflict erupted between the Sudanese armed forces, under the leadership of Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces under Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti.
“It is devastating to have to stop supporting life-saving surgical care at Bashair hospital,” said Shazeer Majeed, MSF surgical referent. “The needs are huge. Blocking the medication and materials needed to perform surgery deprives people of the healthcare they so desperately need.”
Majeed reported that from mid-May onward, the hospital’s emergency room has admitted almost 5,000 patients, and the MSF team has conducted over 3,000 surgical procedures.
Michiel Hofman, MSF’s operations coordinator for Sudan, revealed that following weeks of disruptions and negotiations, on October 1st, the military authorities in Wad Madani, approximately 85 miles from Khartoum, notified the charity that they would cease permitting the transportation of surgical supplies to hospitals in the southern parts of the capital.
“Despite repeated engagements with the health authorities since, these critical supplies remain blocked and stocks in the hospital are now depleted. We have no choice but to suspend our support to surgical activities at Bashair teaching hospital and temporarily withdraw our surgical team,” he said. “We cannot ask our medical teams to stay when they can no longer provide life-saving care as they are medically obliged to do.”
The organization affirmed its commitment to providing assistance for maternal care, emergency services, and outpatient medical care.
MSF offers medical assistance at three additional hospitals in Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman. Notably, the Turkish hospital, situated in the southern region of Khartoum, is projected to deplete its surgical supplies in the next two weeks.
This development coincides with reports from humanitarian officials who describe the escalating conflict in Sudan as an unprecedented challenge, leaving them compelled to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Aid supply routes are disrupted, and a growing number of people are displaced within the country and across its borders.
