Doctors Without Borders: One Child Dies Every Two Hours in Zamzam Camp
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Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) announced today, Monday, that at least one child dies every two hours in the Zamzam camp for displaced persons in North Darfur state, due to malnutrition, lack of food, and medical care. The organization called on the international community for urgent mobilization to save lives and to operate Fasher Airport to provide aid.
Claire Nicole, Head of Emergency Response for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan, explained: "What we are witnessing in Zamzam camp is an extremely catastrophic situation. We estimate that at least one child dies every two hours in the camp."
Zamzam camp, located 15 kilometers southwest of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, is one of the largest and oldest displacement camps in the country, hosting over 300,000 displaced people before the current war.
She added that around 13 children die every day, and those who have not died yet are more susceptible to death within three to six weeks if they do not receive treatment.
She continued that nearly a quarter of children, especially those aged between six months and two years, and 40% of pregnant and lactating women suffer from malnutrition, another indicator of the severity of the situation.
The organization stated that people are suffering from hunger, and children are dying as a result. No food has been distributed by the World Food Programme since May. Families that used to have two meals a day now have only one.
She confirmed that the organizations clinic is the only one operating in the camp, and people travel on donkey backs or on foot from villages up to 50 kilometers away from the camp to receive healthcare. They camp outside the clinic all night because it is their only chance to get treatment for their children. People drink from swamps or rivers, which can cause severe diarrhea due to the lack of clean water.
She explained that Médecins Sans Frontières is the only major international organization providing free medical care for children in all five states of Darfur after the collapse of the healthcare system in an area the size of France. The childrens hospital has a total of only 78 beds for a population of over 11 million people, which is not enough to respond to the magnitude of this disaster.
"Before the conflict started in April of last year, people in the camp relied on international support for food, healthcare, and clean water - everything. This aid has now suddenly stopped, with severe hindrance of land and air supply routes. People have been unable to tend to their crops due to lack of security and scarce rainfall.
Nicole said: "They have been almost entirely abandoned."
