MSF alarmed by inadequate emergency intervention in Darfur

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has expressed concern over the plight of tens of thousands of displaced people in Sudan's South Darfur region, whom it said, continued to suffer because the emergency operation was inadequate, which had led to high child mortality rates. "It is a disgrace that just minutes from Nyala international airport, up to 66,000 displaced people continue to live without adequate food or sanitation," said Vince Hoedt, coordinator of MSF's programmes in South Darfur, in a press release issued by the agency on Monday. "The people in Kalma camp are completely dependent on food distributions that are irregular and insufficient," said Hoedt. "People fleeing ongoing violence in the region continue to arrive." Hoedt said that MSF was providing healthcare and nutritional support in Kalma camp, but more help was urgently required to prevent the situation from getting worse. Newly completed epidemiological surveys carried out by MSF in South Darfur showed that the overall level and quality of aid remained insufficient. In Kalma camp near Nyala, where an estimated 66,000 people fleeing violence have sought shelter and MSF is treating 3,900 malnourished children, the survey found malnutrition and mortality rates well above emergency levels, according to the MSF statement. "MSF warns that without increased mobilization of aid to South Darfur, the health and nutritional situation in the region could deteriorate further," the statement added. The MSF survey, carried out between 2 and 6 September in Kalma camp found that almost a quarter (23.6 percent) of the children under five were malnourished, 3.3 percent of the them so severely that immediate help was necessary to prevent them from dying. A retrospective mortality survey was conducted and revealed that in the past seven months, approximately 2,500 people had died, of which 1,100 were children under five. "These figures are way above emergency threshold levels. Estimates over the last month do not show any improvement, despite increased access to health resources in Kalma camp. The largest single cause of death in Kalma is diarrhea but violence was responsible for 57 percent of deaths in adults," according to MSF. The medical charity said that an additional MSF epidemiological survey carried out at the end of August among the estimated 78,000 people living in Kass, also found a high number of deaths over recent months, especially among children under five. In Muhajiriya, 90 km east of Nyala, a survey found less malnutrition but the estimated 13,000 displaced people there were newly arrived, having fled ongoing violence in the region. Eighty-one percent of recent adult deaths in this population were violent. With few possessions and no food reserves, their situation could deteriorate further if urgent assistance was not provided. "Displaced people in South Darfur continue to live on the edge. They feel unsafe and are afraid to return to their homes because of ongoing violence, and more people are arriving every day in Kalma and Muhajariya," said Hoedt. "Food distributions have managed to stave off the worst for now, but the situation remains precarious and unless aid is increased and maintained over the long term, preventable deaths from disease and malnutrition will continue." MSF currently has more than 200 international aid workers and 2,000 national staff working throughout Darfur and an additional 35 international staff caring for refugees from Darfur who have fled to Chad. The conflict in Darfur pits the Sudanese military and militias, said-to-be allied with the government, against rebels fighting to end alleged marginalisation and discrimination of Darfur residents by the state. The militias, locally known as Janjawid, have been accused of committing atrocities against civilians.