Doctors Without Borders Warns of Catastrophic Malnutrition Crisis in Zamzam Camp
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Doctors Without Borders organization has warned of deteriorating conditions in North Darfur, calling on warring parties to ensure the protection of civilians, healthcare facilities, and medical staff so that assistance can be provided to tens of thousands of people whose lives are at risk before its too late.
The organization stated in a statement yesterday that over the past two weeks, it treated more than 100 war-wounded patients, including 11 children, many of whom were injured by gunshot wounds, at the South Hospital in Fasher. Meanwhile, it is expanding its operations to address the major malnutrition crisis in Zamzam Camp, where the situation is becoming increasingly critical.
The organization emphasized the presence of a catastrophic and life-threatening malnutrition crisis in Zamzam Camp, in North Darfur, noting that its urgent appeal launched three months ago for support has not yielded any results. It remains the only international relief agency working to address this massive crisis, making it the only one capable of responding to mass casualty incidents in Fasher.
It was revealed that among more than 46,000 children examined, 30 percent suffer from acute malnutrition, with eight percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Similar figures were found among more than 16,000 pregnant and lactating women examined: 33 percent of them suffer from acute malnutrition, and 10 percent suffer from severe acute malnutrition. For both population groups, these numbers exceed the emergency threshold of 15 percent, indicating a major life-threatening emergency in Zamzam Camp.
Claire Nicole, Emergency Response Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, stated: "In Zamzam Camp, there is a severe crisis on a catastrophic scale. The situation is critical, and the level of suffering is enormous, but despite this situation being known for almost three months, not enough has been done to help those struggling to survive. With the escalation of fighting, we are extremely concerned that it will make it more difficult for international support, which we have been strongly advocating for, to reach those in need."
She added, "Restrictions on humanitarian access – including deliberate impediments to aid delivery by warring parties – have significantly hindered relief agencies ability to expand the response. In addition to the lack of security. However, the situation is so critical that these issues cannot continue to be used as excuses. The United Nations and the humanitarian community at large must make greater efforts to negotiate access for UN agencies and international NGOs to attend and assist in the response in Zamzam Camp."
