From April, MSF started supporting the national response to the pandemic in the capital, Khartoum, by running training to improve infection prevention and control measures, ward and triage circuits, and water and sanitation provision inside health facilities. This training, run in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, was provided to healthcare professionals in leadership roles at 90 hospitals in Khartoum state, as well as staff, so they could replicate the training sessions in hospitals in other states.

In August, we opened a COVID-19 treatment centre in Omdurman teaching hospital, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, for patients with moderate to severe symptoms of the virus. During the year, we also conducted health promotion and awareness-raising sessions on COVID-19 in local communities and healthcare centres across the country.

Following violence and subsequent displacement, we provided emergency response assistance to people, via mobile clinics in Geneina in West Darfur and Sortony in North Darfur, and by donating humanitarian aid in Port Sudan, Red Sea State and Gereida, South Darfur.

In September, the Blue Nile burst its banks, causing devastating floods that affected more than three million people across 17 of Sudan’s 18 states. MSF provided emergency response, including in River Nile state, where we distributed relief items such as hygiene kits and constructed latrines. During an outbreak of a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by mosquitoes in Northern State, we provided treatment and water and sanitation activities.

In November, when conflict broke out in Tigray, Ethiopia, thousands of people fled across the border into Sudan. We sent teams to assist refugees in Al-Gedaref and Kassala states, providing screening for malnutrition, general healthcare consultations, and water and sanitation in two camps, and at the main border crossing points.

Throughout the year, we continued our regular medical activities in Khartoum, and in North, East, and Central Darfur states, as well as White Nile, Al-Gedaref and South Kordofan states. These activities included nutritional support for children, maternity care, and treatment for diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and kala azar (visceral leishmaniasis).