New activities to start following cargo shipment for West Darfur, Sudan

The latest cargo shipment will bring new medical and health facilities to the displaced in and around El Geneina

MSF is continuing to increase its operations stocks and supplies in Sudan with a shipment of 66 tons of material that arrived in Nyalah and Khartoum on July 3 and 4.

With the impending rainy season, establishing stocks and operations as quickly as possible is crucial to maintaining consistent care to the vulnerable populations.

The goods are intended specifically for operations in an around El Geneina, West Darfur, where MSF has a team of 15 expat staff members. Activities there will increase as soon as possible, using the goods for a number of projects to assist the population.

The shipments consist of drugs and medical equipment, and high energy food to set-up a therapeutic feeding centre. Drugs and medical equipment are used to establish hospital and clinics to assist in providing medical care.

Finally, water and sanitation material will allow teams to establish clean water supplies for the displaced in and around El Geneina.

Additional activity by MSF in El Geneina includes rehabilitating the surgical ward and has started to work in the pediatric ward at El Geneina hospital. MSF is currently treating 85 severely malnourished children in medical tents on the hospital grounds, and is building a new structure for pediatric patients.

Also, MSF is conducting a nutritional survey in El Geneina's 11 camps that house 80,000 people. A nurse as well as community health workers visit several camps, referring the sickest patients to El Geneina hospital.

West Darfur is considered the worst hit of the three Darfur states where the displaced are gathering. Estimates are that some 250,000 people have gathered there. Over one million people are estimated to have been displaced because of the ongoing violence.

MSF started working at this emergency in December 2003 and there are currently over 100 expats and 2,000 national staff members working at this emergency in Sudan.