This past weekend, MSF, at the request of the local Ministry of Health, treated and evacuated three people who'd suffered gunshot wounds during protests in Unity State of South Sudan.
This past Saturday morning, following an appeal from the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Bentiu, Unity State, Southern Sudan, the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) mobilized a medical team to evacuate three patients suffering from gunshot wounds. The patients had been severely wounded the prior day during protests in Bentiu that began after local radio stations announced the winner of the election for governor in Unity State.
The patients were stabilized by MoH staff in Bentiu hospital before being transferred to MSF medics who evacuated them by plane to the MSF run surgical hospital in Leer, 110 kilometers (66 miles) south of Bentiu. In Leer hospital, a surgical team that had been on standby operated on the patients.
“Our surgical teams have been on standby in Southern Sudan for eventualities such as these,” said Ross Duffy, MSF Head of Mission. “It was fortunate for these patients that we had a plane in the vicinity and were able to respond quickly. Our surgical and logistical teams, in collaboration with the MoH, remain prepared to respond to any emergencies.”
In recent weeks MSF has strengthened its existing surgical capacity with additional surgeons and anesthetists and has pre-positioned surgical equipment and materials in key locations.
The emergency medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in Sudan since 1979. The organization currently has permanent projects in Red Sea State, Northern Darfur, Western and Central Equatoria, Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal, Warrap, Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile States, and in the transitional area of Abyei. MSF also runs emergency projects in other areas. MSF is an independent and neutral aid agency that serves all people based on medical need, regardless of tribe, race, political or religious affiliation.
