MSF President: Impact Of Conflict In S. Sudan Striking
The International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Dr Joann Liu, said the scale of the impact of the conflict on civilians in the country is striking as civilians are losing hope. 23 August 2017 MSF President: Impact Of Conflict In S. Sudan Striking Dr. Joann Liu, the International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) [Photo by Jale Richard] By Jale Richard JUBA, 23 August 2017 [Gurtong]-“It is striking how much the civilians are paying the price in the conflict,” said Dr. Liu. “What is striking when you come to South Sudan is the scale of the impact on civilians. 2 million people are displaced, 2 other million have fled the country, and one in three people is displaced.” Dr. Liu had visited MSF project sites in Malakal and Aburoch in the last week where MSF is providing lifesaving assistance to those affected by the conflict. She said the civilians are the constant losers to the conflict. “They have lost their family members, children, homes, lands, and they are living in a mud somewhere,” said Liu. She said in Malakal and Aburoch, “people have lost hope because they have moved four times over the last few months and then started life again from scratch.” Over the last 15 months, 24 MSF medical facilities including mobile clinics and ambulances were attacked in Pibor, Leer, Kodok, and other places, she said. Dr. Liu appeals for protection of civilians and their property during conflicts. “All parties to the conflict must respect and protect the civilians and their communities,” she said. “People must have and must be allowed to access health care and saving services and assistance. Medical facilities must be protected, in the conflict all parties must restrain from looting and damaging medical facilities because that is the life line in conflict times.” She said despite the difficulty facing the medical charity group, MSF will continue supporting the people of South Sudan, but need access in order to save the lives of people caught in conflicts. The MSF President said the number of people asking for mental support from MSF clinics is increasing because of loss of hope and loss of future. “This is a reflection of the violence that is happening, and it is depriving people of access to health care when they needed the most,” she said. “It is not because brutal violence is happening; people are right now trying to escape the cycle of violence. What is going on right now is that it is not sparing the civilians and the civilian structures,” she said. Dr. Liu said the people she visited told her they have been moving around from one spot to another over the last few months. “Staring all over again from scratch has been the story of people, and they start all over again with nothing. They go and live in conditions in either camps in the mud with very little to live on, that is their life. Live in the, mud,” She said. She said MSF is committed to work in the country to offer health care access to the civilians even with the difficult situation. Posted in: Home, Humanitarian -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqR2tvRqhZT_vF4zHP%2Bt99NhqCi38Cps%3DdgX2P-NOWe-Q%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
