The humanitarian crisis in Sudan: a forgotten tragedy

The situation in Sudan is escalating dramatically. The so-called "Sudan crisis arc" has developed into a tragedy of historic proportions. Around 12 million people are on the run, more than half of them children. With drastic cuts to funding for international cooperation, no relief is in sight.

Many refugees from Sudan find temporary shelter in eastern Chad. But the violent clashes are increasingly spilling over into this country too. In the region around Tiné, near the eastern border with Sudan, the security situation is deteriorating. Reports of drone strikes and armed confrontations are becoming more frequent. The high number of casualties is pushing hospitals to their limits. People depend on medical care, but the supplies to provide it are lacking.

A call for help reaches MAF

While MAF staff member John Feil was in Chad, the team received an email with an urgent appeal for help. A hospital in Tiné had admitted more than 100 injured people in a single day. The medical teams were running out of vital medicines and surgical equipment. Among the items needed were surgical kits and essential medicines – "ideally as early as the next day".

"With emergency deliveries, road transport is a major challenge, because it takes around five days," John Feil explains. "The urgency of the emergency demanded an immediate response." In response to the appeal, MAF carried out three cargo flights. Without these medical deliveries, treating the injured would have been almost impossible.

Flights that save lives

MAF's country director in Chad, Esmara Gaalswijk, expressed her gratitude that the organisation could contribute to helping those affected by the war in Sudan. "It was impressive to see how we removed all the seats from the Cessna Caravan and filled the entire interior with urgently needed medical supplies," she recounts. "We are grateful that we were able to make a contribution, however small, to addressing this ongoing humanitarian crisis by flying in these life-saving medicines."

The final flight also transported equipment for a mobile operating theatre, so that patients with serious injuries could be treated. "The fact that you were able to fit all the equipment into the aircraft is a great help to our team in Tiné," said a representative of the humanitarian organisation running the hospital. "Many thanks, too, for the excellent cooperation. I have never seen such a swift response and action to an urgent cargo request."

MAF expands its aid

Under the umbrella of the "Sudan Response Collective", MAF teams from Chad, South Sudan, Uganda and the logistics centre in Kenya work hand in hand. The aim is to massively expand transport capacity in the region, set up new outstation bases and – as soon as the security situation allows – become active directly within Sudan itself.