Darfur violence puts pressure on MSF in Chad

The recent renewed violence in Darfur’s border region with Chad, has seen an increasing number of Darfuris seeking medical assistance across the border, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reports. “In the past week, MSF teams have treated 30 new injured patients, 13 of whom suffered from gunshot wounds, and were evacuated to the nearby town of Abeche for emergency surgery. It is the largest wave of wounded MSF has seen in the last two months,” according to a MSF report. “In April, MSF opened an emergency project in Tissi, in south-eastern Chad, to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to Sudanese refugees and Chadian returnees affected by the fighting in Darfur. The humanitarian crisis is a direct result of the deteriorating security situation in some areas of Central Darfur, which has displaced an estimated 50,000 people to Chad since the beginning of the year,” the report states. “In the past three months MSF has treated more than 80 patients for gunshot wounds. The level of violence is extremely concerning and our team is frequently working around the clock to stabilise and refer patients with severe injuries,” says Jason Mills, MSF Head of Mission in Chad. MSF is running a health facility in the town of Tissi, where, in addition to the wounded, more than 3,500 people have been treated for ailments such as diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and malnutrition. Rainy season Because of the onset of the rainy season, MSF is also worried about the approaching malaria season. “MSF is now holding malaria prevention sessions for local residents, and with the help of a network of community health workers, is monitoring the general health situation for the local population in Tissi town, as well as returnees who have settled in surrounding villages,” the report states. “A second MSF team is now providing primary health care in the Ab Gadam refugee camp, 20 kilometres west of Tissi, where 17,000 refugees have been relocated by the UNHCR.” According to the report, MSF will open an in-patient department in early August, to provide secondary healthcare in the camp for the next two months. “Due to the rain, poor road conditions have made it difficult for water trucks to reach the Ab Gadam camp, leaving refugees with little or no potable water. In mid-July, the situation reached a crisis point when the amount of water available dropped below one litre, per person, per day, well below the humanitarian standard of 20 litres per person, per day. “On 21 July, the MSF team was able to rehabilitate a dam close to the camp and distribute 200,000 litres in the following three days, raising the quantity of water to seven litres, per person, per day by 23 July.”“MSF is expending considerable effort to improve the water supply in the camp, and to build latrines in order to prevent outbreaks of cholera and hepatitis-E,” says Turid Piening, MSF Health Advisor for Chad, adding that despite the logistical challenges, MSF plans to continue its emergency response in the Tissi area at least until the end of the rainy season in October. Drinking water The Sudanese refugees of camp Gaga in eastern Chad have confirmed to Radio Dabanga that there is an ongoing shortage of clean drinking water. Sheikh Yassin Abdel Karim reported to our station that the water pumps of the camp have not been operating for a month. He said that he has filed “multiple complaints to the UNHCR, who promised to solve the problem within a week, however nothing’s been done so far although three weeks has now passed.” Sheikh Karim added that the refugees were forced to fetch drinking water from a valley; which increased the suffering of women and the elderly, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. “The valley is located a far distance from the camp, and the valley water is not safe for drinking,” he said repeating his appeal for the UNHCR to expedite the solution of the water crisis in the camp. File photo: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Related: ‘Conditions remain unacceptable for Darfuri refugees in Chad’: MSF (25 June 2013) Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad lack shelter, safe drinking water (30 May 2013)