AMI in Sudan

Objective

Bring emergency assistance and give access to health care to rural and internally displaced populations suffering from the Darfur war.

Context

The conflict in Darfur, a region situated in western Sudan, started in 2003 with the uprising of two rebellion movements, the Sudan Liberation Movement [SLM] and the Justice and Equality Movement [JEM], against the Sudanese government. The authorities in Khartoum reacted by giving arms to Janjawid militias. Not only were more than 180,000 people killed, this conflict led to a real humanitarian catastrophe [2 million people displaced in camps, epidemic risks, malnutrition, etc.]. In October 2004, AMI opened a mission to support rural and displaced populations affected by the war. However, access difficulties, repeated obstacles from the government and overwhelming insecurity hampered the organization of assistance. The intensification of the conflict in spring 2005, despite the reopening of negotiations in May 2005, forced AMI to temporarily close [for 7 months, from April to November] its base in Khor Abache and to move its activities further south, in the Ed Al Fursan area."

Programs

Apart from training local medical staff, AMI’s project in Sudan focuses on two main activities:

• Local health care, partly through the teams of two mobile clinics and the supply of medicines and medical consumables. AMI’s mission aims at giving access to free and adapted primary health care services
• Nutritional and epidemiological watch, aiming in particular to improve the prevention of infectious diseases. Within a partnership between the WHO and the Sudanese Ministry of Health, AMI is thus helping to set up an awareness network watching for diseases with high epidemic potential

Results

* Health care:

• 50,410 consultations
• 4,000 children under five years old examined as part as the prevention against malnutrition
• 19,722 health care interventions, of which 28,372 primary health care interventions and 1,911 interventions in reproductive health [antenatal and postnatal, consultations, family planning]
• 130 patients taken into hospital
• Vaccination campaign in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, involving mostly children under 5 years old vaccinated against polio, measles, tetanus, diphtheria and BCG
• 100 children suffering from severe malnutrition transferred to the Ed Al Fursan hospital

*Health education:

• 1,920 primary school children informed on bilharzia

*Training:

• Recruitment and training of 20 medical staff on subjects such as personal and environmental hygiene, diarrhea and malaria prevention, mother and child health, immunization, etc.

*Emergency rehabilitation:

• for instance of the health center of Khor Abeche

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Project definition in Sudan

Localization

• Khor Abeche village in the Shearia region. [Activities were interrupted in April 2005 for security reasons. The mission reopened in November 2005]
• Ed Al Fursan region [activities started in April 2005]

Beneficiaries Population covered : 63,000 displaced and resident people

Direct beneficiaries : 50,410 consultations

AMI’s team on this project

A dozen expatriates : head of mission, project manager, administrator, logistician, doctor, nurses 50 local staff : doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, educators, driver, administrative assistant, etc.

Sources of Funds

European Community Humanitarian Office [ECHO], Delegation for Humanitarian Action [DAH] of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Attack in an AMI intervention zone in Darfour

On Thursday April 13th 2006, 500 Janjawids reinforced by governmental troops, attacked the locality of Kurunje in Sudan, where AMI intervenes.

The AMI team, based in Khor Abeche, occupied itself to look after the 25 persons wounded by ball. After having given first urgency care, the team organized the evacuation of the wounded.

Thus, 5 severely wounded persons were transferred by road that evening towards the Nyala hospital, and 9 others were evacuated on the next day by the United Nation helicopters.

All members of our team also evacuated the zone.

Following these events, Véronique Brossette (head of mission) was convened by the Sudanese authorities to explain the methods of the evacuation of the injured.

Thanks to the supports of ECHO and other organizations, and thanks to the arguments of the chief of mission, AMI will be able to continue its mission in Darfour. However, the return of our team in the zone of Khor Abeche remains conditioned by an improvement of the safety conditions.

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