Khartoum —Following serious July flooding in the Red Sea State, north-eastern Sudan, the international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) donated kits and emergency food for affected communities to help address continuing needs.

Many families in the Tokar region were affected by heavy flooding in mid-July which destroyed homes and water sources. In the immediate aftermath the Ministry of Health addressed the most urgent medical needs and distributed relief items. However, with flood-affected people still in need of further assistance, the Minister of Social Affairs requested support from a number of different agencies, including MSF, which already has teams providing healthcare in the Red Sea State.

“When natural disasters affect people who already have so little, it’s crucial that emergency supplies reach the most vulnerable - women and children under the age of five,” said Sophie Duterme, MSF’s medical coordinator in Khartoum. “When local authorities requested assistance to further boost their own response we were happy to help. Just last week many people who had lost their houses were still living under trees in the open air, without clean drinking water. So basic items like food, cutlery, blankets and material to build temporary shelters will make a small but vital difference.”

MSF donated 200 emergency kits to a special shipment of supplies that was sent by boat to the affected area last week. Each kit contains plastic sheeting, rope, a blanket, a mat, soap, hygiene items for women, pots, mugs, eating utensils, jerry cans and a bucket. MSF also donated one ton of special high-calorie, vitamin-fortified food that can be used to help prevent malnutrition for up to 1,500 children. MSF will continue to follow the situation in Tokar region, and its medical teams in Sudan are ready to provide further support if needed.

Elsewhere in the Red Sea State, MSF provides reproductive healthcare in the Ministry of Health Tagadom Hospital in the city of Port Sudan. MSF has been working in Sudan since 1979, and currently has projects in Warrap, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity, Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal, Western Equatoria, Central Equatoria, the transitional area of Abyei, North Darfur, and Al-Gedaref states.