Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned on Sunday a “shocking and appalling” attack on the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, and urged parties to implement “an immediate ceasefire.” Dr. Tedro stressed that the hospital was “the only one that has been providing maternal and child healthcare in El Fasher.”
The attack resulted in multiple casualties, including the death of pharmacist Amna Ahmed Bakhit. Dr. Tedros extended “heartfelt condolences” to the families of those affected and said that the hospital “continues to function due to the dedication of its staff.” He emphasized the need for mothers and infants to be protected and for healthcare workers to operate in safety.
Dr. Tedros’s call for ceasefire to protect patients and healthcare workers comes on the heels of a similar call from the United Nations Security Council, which urged an end to the fighting in El Fasher last month in a resolution demanding Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces protect civilians and lift the siege of El Fasher. The text of the resolution called on “all parties to the conflict to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue.” However, more than a week after the council’s appeal, intense violence continues unabated, including repeated attacks on medical facilities.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, called the escalation a “human tragedy,” continuing that the pharmacy worker was “killed on the job, prescribing and administering medicine to women, men, and children in a place that should have been safe.” She echoed Dr. Tedros’ ceasefire calls, saying, “The silencing of the guns is long overdue. From bullets or bombs, starvation or disease, each soul lost to this senseless war takes Sudan another inexorable step away from what we all want. Peace.”
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also sounded the alarm about escalating violence in Sudan, warning that the ongoing conflict is severely hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to those most in need. With the situation in El Fasher growing increasingly desperate, international organizations are urging immediate action to halt the violence and ensure the protection of civilians and healthcare workers in the region, who are protected under international humanitarian law.
