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MSF forced to suspend support in Madani Teaching Hospital, Sudan

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Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been forced to suspend work and withdraw staff from Madani Teaching Hospital, the only functional hospital for the hundreds of thousands of people in dire need of medical assistance in the capital of Al Jazirah state, Sudan.

This difficult decision comes after more than three months of relentless challenges trying to provide care at the hospital. Amidst the growing insecurity, we have been unable to bring new staff and medical supplies into the area due to the denial of travel permits, and faced repeated security incidents, such as looting and harassment, affecting our ability to provide medical care.

We call on the warring parties to stop violating health facilities and guarantee the safety of medical personnel, and to grant the necessary travel permits for our staff and supplies.

While the humanitarian and medical needs in Wad Madani and Al Jazirah are immense, we have no other option than to stop our work immediately and leave the area.

“The health system and basic services in Al Jazirah state have collapsed as a consequence of the fighting and the systematic blockade on supplies and personnel entering the area,” says Mari Carmen Viñoles, operations manager for MSF in Sudan.

“MSF was the only international NGO providing some support in Wad Madani. Our departure leaves a deep void for people struggling to access healthcare and living in a very insecure environment without transportation to move around.”

In mid-December, when fighting reached Wad Madani – the capital of Al Jazirah state located about 136 kilometres southeast of Khartoum – at least 630,000 people were forced to flee Al Jazirah towards other parts of Sudan according to the International Organization for Migration – many of whom had already been displaced.

At the end of that month, MSF evacuated all staff from Wad Madani following the offensive from the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city, which until then had been controlled by the Government led-Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

By 13 January, we were able to send a team back to Wad Madani, where several hundred thousand people remained in which used to be one of the most populated cities of Sudan.

Since then, our teams have been supporting the emergency room, operation theatre, maternity, inpatient department – including paediatrics, the therapeutic feeding centre, and adult and surgical wards – and pharmacy at Madani Teaching Hospital.

We also provided mental health support and care for sexual violence. In addition, we are also provided training, salary incentives to 240 Ministry of Health (MoH) staff, and food for patients.

Between mid-January and the end of April, MSF provided nearly 10,000 outpatient consultations – malaria was the most common illness treated – 2,142 antenatal consultations, and care to 16 survivors of sexual violence. During this period, there was a constant influx of patients into the emergency room, totalling 2,981 admissions. A significant number of these admissions involved physical injuries sustained in the ongoing violence.

MSF has now suspended all support to the facility, and we have relocated our staff to safer areas of Sudan. Over the past three months, our team and the supported MoH staff have faced repeated security incidents that have been either carried out or tolerated by the RSF, including looting of the hospital, stolen vehicles, and staff being retained, among multiple other incidents.

The deliberate administrative blockages, the increasing insecurity, and the constant violations of the hospital as a neutral space made it impossible to continue providing services.

Since January, Sudanese authorities have persistently denied travel permits to bring new staff and medical and logistic supplies into the city.

“While the humanitarian and medical needs in Wad Madani and Al Jazirah are immense, we have no other option than to stop our work immediately and leave the area,” says Viñoles.

“The deliberate administrative blockages, the increasing insecurity, and the constant violations of the hospital as a neutral space made it impossible to continue providing services.”

MSF is willing to return to support the Madani Teaching Hospital to support people in Al Jazirah if the warring parties commit to respecting our medical work and ensure safe and uninterrupted access to the area.

We call on the RSF to stop violating medical facilities and guarantee the safety of MoH and MSF personnel. We also call on the Government of Sudan-led military and civilian authorities to grant the necessary travel permits for our staff and supplies.

MSF currently works in and supports more than 30 health facilities in nine states in Sudan: Khartoum, White and Blue Nile, Al Gedaref, West Darfur, North, South and Central Darfur, and Red Sea. We run programmes in both SAF- and RSF-controlled areas. Our teams provide trauma care, maternal and paediatric care, and treat malnutrition alongside other healthcare services. Our teams are also supporting Sudanese refugees and returnees in South Sudan and eastern Chad.

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Ebola : la RDC confirme 10 000 cas, le NRC appelle à un renforcement urgent de la réponse

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Le Conseil norvégien pour les réfugiés (NRC) a appelé à un renforcement urgent des efforts humanitaires en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), après la confirmation de plus de 10 000 cas dans le cadre de l’épidémie en cours due au virus Bundibugyo.

L’épidémie a touché huit provinces du pays, exerçant une pression considérable sur des communautés déjà confrontées à une crise humanitaire prolongée. Elle est principalement concentrée dans l’est de la RDC, tandis que des signalements récents de cas au Kenya et au Nigeria suscitent des inquiétudes quant à une éventuelle propagation régionale.

Près de 5 000 décès auraient été confirmés en RDC seulement.

Cette épidémie survient dans un contexte de crise humanitaire persistante dans l’est de la RDC, où les violences, les déplacements forcés et l’accès limité aux services essentiels ont rendu de nombreuses communautés particulièrement vulnérables.

Le NRC, qui intervient dans le pays depuis plus de deux décennies, participe à la réponse à l’épidémie d’Ebola, notamment dans la province de l’Ituri, l’une des régions les plus touchées.

L’organisation appelle à une action durable et coordonnée afin de protéger les communautés, d’améliorer l’accès aux services essentiels et de répondre aux besoins des personnes affectées à la fois par l’épidémie et les déplacements de population.

« Lors de mes déplacements en Ituri, je constate à quel point la maladie frappe durement les communautés, et je suis frappée par l’ampleur des efforts supplémentaires nécessaires pour maîtriser cette épidémie », a déclaré Silvia Beccacece, responsable de l’équipe d’urgence du NRC.

« Depuis des années, les familles d’ici luttent contre les conséquences des violences extrêmes, des déplacements forcés et du manque de services essentiels. Ebola vient s’ajouter à ces difficultés, alors que beaucoup ont déjà épuisé leurs capacités à faire face à cette nouvelle épreuve.

« Il est clair que la réponse apportée est loin d’être proportionnelle à l’ampleur considérable de l’épidémie », a-t-elle ajouté.

Le NRC a souligné que la lutte contre Ebola nécessite une étroite coopération entre les autorités sanitaires, les organisations humanitaires, les groupes communautaires et les partenaires internationaux.

L’organisation a également appelé à mettre les communautés touchées au centre des interventions et à tenir compte des coutumes et traditions locales.

Elle a exhorté les bailleurs de fonds et les partenaires à accroître les financements et le soutien aux opérations humanitaires en RDC, en particulier dans les zones affectées par l’épidémie et les déplacements de population.

« La confirmation de 10 000 cas doit servir de signal d’alarme : la réponse actuelle ne parvient pas à prendre de l’avance sur l’épidémie et ne fournit pas aux communautés le soutien dont elles ont besoin pour maîtriser la transmission du virus », a déclaré Beccacece.

« Les signes avant-coureurs sont visibles de tous. Tout dépend désormais de la volonté des dirigeants d’en tenir compte et de prendre les mesures nécessaires », a-t-elle ajouté.

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Ebola:DRC confirms 10,000 cases, NRC seeks scale-up

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The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has called for an urgent expansion of humanitarian efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), following the confirmation of more than 10,000 cases in the ongoing Bundibugyo virus outbreak.

The outbreak has affected eight provinces in the country, placing enormous pressure on communities already struggling with a prolonged humanitarian crisis. The epidemic is concentrated in eastern DR Congo, while reports of recent cases in Kenya and Nigeria have raised concerns about a possible regional spread.

Nearly 5,000 deaths have reportedly been confirmed in DR Congo alone.

The outbreak comes amid a long-running humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo, where violence, forced displacement and limited access to essential services have left many communities vulnerable.

The NRC, which has operated in the country for more than two decades, is participating in the Ebola response, including in Ituri province, one of the areas most affected by the outbreak.

The organisation is urging sustained and coordinated action to protect communities, improve access to essential services and address the needs of people affected by both the outbreak and displacement.

“As I move around Ituri, I’m seeing just how hard the disease is hitting communities, and I am struck by how much more needs to be done to bring this outbreak under control,” said Silvia Beccacece, NRC’s emergency team leader.

“Families here have been struggling for years as a result of extreme violence, forced displacement, and the lack of essential services. Ebola comes on top of that, at a point where many have exhausted their ability to cope with the additional challenge it brings.

“The fact remains that this response is in no way proportionate to the vast scale of the outbreak,” she added.

The NRC stressed that combating Ebola requires close cooperation among health authorities, humanitarian organisations, community-based groups and international partners.

It also called for a response that places affected communities at the centre of interventions and takes local customs and traditions into account.

The organisation urged donors and partners to increase funding and support for humanitarian operations in DR Congo, particularly in areas affected by the outbreak and displacement.

“10,000 confirmed cases must be a wake-up call that this response is not getting ahead of the outbreak, and is not supporting communities with what they need to bring transmission under control,” Beccacece said.

“The warning signs are here for all to see: now it depends on whether leaders will take notice and take the required action,” she added.

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Libye : des centaines de migrants rapatriés, des renforts déployés à Tobrouk

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Le Département libyen de lutte contre la migration illégale (DCIM) a rapatrié ou transféré des centaines de migrants en vue de leur rapatriement depuis des centres de détention situés dans l’est du pays, tout en déployant des unités de renfort à Tobrouk afin de renforcer les opérations de lutte contre la migration irrégulière.

Ces informations ont été rapportées dans une série de publications sur X par Migrant Rescue Watch.

Le 15 octobre 2026, le DCIM a déployé des unités de renfort à Tobrouk pour soutenir sa branche locale dans la lutte contre la migration irrégulière dans la ville et les zones environnantes relevant de sa compétence.

Le même jour, l’agence a rapatrié sept migrants égyptiens détenus au centre de détention pour migrants de l’est de Tripoli, à Tajoura, via l’aéroport international de Mitiga, à Tripoli, selon Migrant Rescue Watch.

La veille, le 14 octobre, le DCIM de Tobrouk avait rapatrié ou transféré 209 migrants en vue de leur rapatriement. Les ressortissants égyptiens ont été renvoyés par le poste-frontière terrestre d’Emsaed, tandis que les autres migrants ont été transférés au centre de détention pour migrants de Quanafudah en vue de leur rapatriement.

Lors d’une opération distincte menée le 28 septembre, l’agence a transféré 297 migrants de différentes nationalités du centre de détention pour migrants de Tobrouk vers celui de Quanafudah, à Benghazi, en vue de leur rapatriement.

Le DCIM a également rapatrié ou transféré 250 migrants de différentes nationalités depuis le centre de détention pour migrants de Shahat le même jour, selon les publications.

Les rapports n’ont pas précisé les nationalités de l’ensemble des migrants concernés ni fourni davantage de détails sur leur situation et les modalités de leur retour.

Ces opérations interviennent dans un contexte de poursuite des mesures de contrôle migratoire dans l’est de la Libye, où les autorités continuent de procéder au transfert et au rapatriement de migrants détenus dans différents centres de rétention.

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