Beleaguered surgeon calls for end to humanitarian blockade of Sudan’s Nuba enclave BMJ2014;348doi: dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1921(Published 4 March 2014) Cite this as:BMJ2014;348:g1921 Peter Moszynski Hopes for humanitarian access to Sudan’s war torn Nuba Mountains have again been dashed with the collapse of peace talks in Ethiopia, leaving the region’s only functioning hospital in desperate need of supplies and a respite from the bombing campaign that has overwhelmed its surgical capacity. The region has been cut off from the outside world since United Nations peacekeepers pulled out in 2011, when South Sudan became independent as part of Sudan’s so called Comprehensive Peace Agreement. But the outbreak of civil war last December in the world’s youngest country (bmj/content/348/bmj.g1480) has made the situation far worse, leading to a mounting humanitarian catastrophe on both sides of the border. International health workers have been evacuated from the main refugee camps south of the border, and refugees have fled back to the Nuba Mountains, saying that they would rather face bombardment and starvation in their own land than be killed by bullets in a foreign country. Tom Catena, the only doctor working in the area, (bmj/content/346/bmj.f759) said that the new conflict had made it even harder to obtain essential medical supplies, food, and vaccines. Last month a truck carrying a year’s supply of sorghum for staff and patients was looted en route. This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Sudanese president Omar al Bashir’s indictment for war crimes and of his immediate reaction—the expulsion of the international organisations that were attempting to help the millions of people displaced in Darfur. Catena told the BMJ that the UN had its priorities wrong because it “still feels it has to respect the sovereignty of war criminals instead of vaccinating children.” Mukesh Kapila, professor of global health at Manchester University in the United Kingdom, used to head the UN operation in Sudan but left in March 2004 because he refused to remain silent about Darfur. He told the BMJ that President al Bashir was subsequently indicted for genocide because “he expelled the agencies assisting the victims of ethnic cleansing,” so it was “hardly surprising” that he had denied humanitarian access to other areas. Kapila said he believed that the international community had ignored problems in the rest of Sudan so that South Sudan could achieve its independence peacefully; but he said that since war had spread across both countries we “realise the price of turning a blind eye to atrocities.” Campaigners have now called for a no-fly zone to halt the bombing, for aid access to all areas, and for a holistic peace process that addresses all of the conflicts. In a rare glimpse of hope for this beleaguered region, last November Catena acquired innovative technology for manufacturing 3D printed prosthetics to assist victims of conflict, and locally trained technicians have managed to continue producing robotic limbs despite their isolation.1 Notes Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g1921 References 01.↵ Not Impossible Labs. Project Daniel. Dec 2013. notimpossiblelabs/#!project-daniel/c1imu.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 22:07:31 +0000
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