Pressmeddelande Darfur (på engelska)

DARFUR/Fighting in the Jebel Mara:
100 000 civilians deprived of access to healthcare,
Médecins du Monde forced to suspend its activities

Following the attack that has just been launched today against the town of Deribat and the fighting that has raged for several days in the Jebel Mara, particularly in the region of Feina, Médecins du Monde has been forced to suspend its medical activities throughout the area.

Deribat, a town of 50 000 inhabitants, was attacked today, Wednesday, triggering a massive exodus by the population and bringing the total number of displaced people in the region to over 100 000.

MdM is concerned about the health-related consequences of these population displacements: lack of access to healthcare, inadequate access to drinking water, risk of outbreaks of meningitis and the early arrival of the “hunger gap” this year linked to poor harvests that threatens to increase the incidence of acute malnutrition, particularly among children under five.

Over and above its concerns about this fresh attack, Médecins du Monde condemns the looting carried out at the Feina health centre on 18th February that has deprived the area’s 30 000 inhabitants of their only efficient healthcare facility.
Médecins du Monde asks that those involved in the conflict protect the town’s healthcare centre, facilitate the work of the medical staff and respect the civilians trapped by the confrontation.
Faced with the scale of this new emergency, MdM is requesting immediate access to the Jebel Mara region, so that humanitarian agencies can come to the aid of the 100 000 displaced people.
As a reminder of the background here, Médecins du Monde has been working with the peoples of the Jebel Mara since 2008 to promote access to primary healthcare, improve mother and child health and reduce malnutrition. Following fighting in the areas of Kidingeer and Leiba, the organisation was obliged to evacuate its foreign aid workers from the Jebel Mara on 11th February.

Press contact
Florence Priolet - 01 44 92 14 32-31 / 06 09 17 35 59
infomdm@medecinsdumonde.net
www.medecinsdumonde.org