'The situation is only getting worse': NGOs in Chad rescue Sudanese refugees in Koufroun

2023-05-06T20:54:38.505Z

Highlights: In the far east of Chad, more than 20,000 Sudanese have already taken refuge in the village of Koufroun. To flee the fighting, many lost everything they owned during looting by armed men after the Sudanese army deserted their locality. Medical NGOs have deployed there to help refugees, sometimes suffering from malnutrition, respiratory diseases or malaria. The most frequent pathologies are respiratory infections caused by dust-laden wind, as well as malaria, due to a lack of shelter and mosquito nets.

In the far east of Chad, more than 20,000 Sudanese have already taken refuge in the village of Koufroun, according to UNHCR. To flee the fighting, many of them lost everything they owned during the...

Report

'The situation is only getting worse': NGOs in Chad rescue Sudanese refugees in Koufroun

Audio 01:27

Child from Kourfroun refugee site vaccinated against measles by MSF © RFI / Carol Valade

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In the far east of Chad, more than 20,000 Sudanese have already taken refuge in the village of Koufroun, according to UNHCR. To flee the fighting, many lost everything they owned during looting by armed men after the Sudanese army deserted their locality. Medical NGOs have deployed there to help refugees, sometimes suffering from malnutrition, respiratory diseases or malaria.

Advertising

With our special envoy in Koufroun, Carol Valade

Deployed for three weeks in Koufroun, the NGO Première urgence is helping refugees in a small mobile clinic.

They didn't have time to take food with them, their house caught fire, so they came, says health project manager Thertus Ndoubamaye pointing to the locals. They have nothing to eat, which is why little by little they have become malnourished. The situation is only getting worse, and today there are about 150 or even 200 consultations a day. »

The most frequent pathologies are respiratory infections caused by dust-laden wind, as well as malaria, due to a lack of shelter and mosquito nets.

« We've had to save a lot of lives already."

>> READ ALSO: Sudan: fighting continues before "pre-negotiations" talks in Saudi Arabia

They flee every day, they cross Sudan, it's right there, and then they're exposed to all the weather, so they go under the trees. " explains Guy Demba Tenzou, nurse.

The most serious cases are immediately referred to Adre Hospital, located about an hour's drive away. "We have had to save a lot of lives already. If we were not there, it would not have been easy, because we saw a child with very serious anemia arrive, he continues. So we went to the hospital yesterday for the follow-up of this child, and he is doing very well, the mother was very happy.

The NGO Médecins Sans Frontières has also deployed its teams to Koufroun to vaccinate the youngest against measles and offer treatment against parasites.

► Read also: Fighting in Sudan: children among the main victims

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Read on on the same topics:

Sudan
Chad
NGO
Humanitarian
Health and medicine
Refugees

Source: rfi

'The situation is only getting worse': NGOs in Chad rescue Sudanese refugees in Koufroun

'The situation is only getting worse': NGOs in Chad rescue Sudanese refugees in Koufroun

« We've had to save a lot of lives already."

Trends 24h

Latest