Sudan: Shocking X-rays expose impact of the conflict on children
At a hospital in Sudan’s conflict-hit capital, approximately one in six war-wounded patients are children under 15 years old.
Since January, many of the young patients seen by the team at the Bashair Teaching Hospital in south Khartoum – which is supported by Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – have suffered gunshot, blast and shrapnel wounds.
Doctors are also concerned about the spike in children arriving at the hospital severely malnourished.
MSF teams working alongside hospital staff have treated more than 4,214 patients for trauma injuries caused by violence, including gunshots and bomb blasts. Of these, 16 percent are children under 15 years old, and 201 children in total have been treated for gunshot wounds.
Bashair Teaching Hospital is one of the last functioning hospitals in south Khartoum. It provides emergency and surgical care as well as maternal healthcare services.
Baby Riyad
“18-month-old baby Riyad was brought to the emergency room after a stray bullet struck his right side while he was napping in his family’s home,” says Dr Moeen*, MSF medical team leader.
“The medical team fought for four hours to stabilise him. Due to the heavy loss of blood, the chances of him surviving the surgery were fifty-fifty.”
The team was able to stop the bleeding however the bullet remained lodged in his chest.
It is unclear how long it will be before anything can be done about this.
The hospital does not have advanced surgical capacities, partly as a result of a systematic blockade of surgical supplies since October 2023.
Referring patients out of the area is also very difficult as transport routes are either destroyed or far too dangerous.
Riyad is one of the 314 children treated for gunshot and blast wounds in 2024.
Deliberate blockages of the transport of medical supplies and medicines also mean that some procedures, such as treating severe burn injuries, are not possible.
This is worrying as there is no fully functioning burn centre left in the city and civilians are increasingly victims of bomb blasts.
Mass casualty events
In late October more than 30 war-wounded patients were rushed to Bashair Hospital in one day following an explosion at a market less than one kilometre away. Twelve of those brought to the emergency room were children under 15.
Many had suffered burns and trauma wounds. One girl of 20 months came in with shrapnel deep in her head.
While the team carefully laid her on the X-ray table, part of her tiny head’s fragile skullcap fell onto the table.
“Cases like this are common,” says Dr Moeen.
“Thankfully that little girl survived. Others are not so lucky”.
Mass casualty events like this – where a large number of patients arrive in a short space of time – have become more frequent as the fighting in the city has intensified, Dr Moeen explains.
The few hospitals that continue to function are under immense pressure and medical staff are struggling to manage all the needs.
At the same time, the hospital has begun to see an increase in the number of children and pregnant women arriving at the hospital acutely malnourished. Without treatment, acute malnutrition can be life-threatening.
Of the 4,186 women and children screened for malnutrition between 19 October and 8 November 2024, more than 1,500 were suffering from severe acute malnutrition and 400 were moderately malnourished.
“These figures of violence and malnutrition show the nightmare people, including children, are experiencing in Khartoum,” says Claire San Filippo, MSF Emergency Coordinator.
“Parties to the conflict must ensure civilians are protected. Medical supplies should be allowed to reach all hospitals in Sudan.”
*Name changed to protect identity
MSF and the Sudan civil war
Since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023, over 500,000 people have sought medical care in MSF-supported hospitals, health facilities and mobile clinics across Sudan.
MSF is supporting and working in more than 12 healthcare facilities in conflict-hit areas, including in Khartoum – sites of high-intensity clashes since the beginning of the war. Between January and September 2024, MSF treated a total of 6,557 war-wounded people in Sudan.
With over 11 million people displaced, Sudan has become the largest displacement crisis in recent memory.
MSF Emergency Trauma Care
In the aftermath of an attack, MSF medics may need to stop life-threatening bleeding, treat a gunshot wound or care for bomb blast survivors. They need to think fast, and act fast.
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