Crisis in Sudan: The world’s forgotten conflict, an MSF Panel Event
In April 2023, a brutal civil war broke out across Sudan. It is now one of the largest humanitarian crises on earth, with over ten million people displaced, yet it rarely makes headline news in the UK.
On Tuesday 10th December 2024, we held an MSF panel discussion event on Sudan, to highlight this forgotten crisis.
The event took place at the Bridewell Centre, 14 Bride Lane, London EC4Y 8EQ.
Our panel of experts discussed in-depth the background of the conflict, the impact on the region, how MSF is responding, and predictions for the future.
The event also included a photography exhibition ‘We too have hopes and dreams’ which featured five Sudanese children, Mazim, Zamzam, Ouman, Mushtaha and Rayan who spoke about their life in Adré transit camp in East Chad.
In celebration of the country’s culture, we were honoured to hear poetry from Sudanese poet, Noon Salah Eldin.
The powerful testimonies from MSF staff and patients shone an urgent spotlight on Sudan and an ongoing war that is slipping from the headlines.
Our panel and event chair
Leila Latif (event chair)
Leila Latif is a British and Sudanese journalist and broadcaster who grew up in Khartoum before moving to the UK as a teenager. She contributes regularly to The Guardian, The BFI, The BBC and many more.
Mohanad Hashim
Mohanad Hashim is an award-winning journalist with the BBC World Service radio programme, Newshour. Has more than two decades of experience as a journalist and has reported on Sudan extensively for the BBC.
Vittorio Oppizzi
Vittorio started his humanitarian career in Ethiopia with the Italian organisation COOPI in 2006 before moving to MSF in 2010. With MSF, Vittorio has been Field Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Mission in Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and most recently the head of the MESO in Amman for three years. Since March last year Vittorio has been working in the position of Operations Advisor (ARP) and for the last few months has been a Programme Manager covering Afghanistan, South Sudan, Kenya, Pakistan and Venezuela. Between MSF missions, Vittorio has worked with GAIN in Nigeria, Doctors of the World in Pakistan and Plan International and GOAL from the UK.
Dr Jennifer Hulse
Jennifer is an Emergency Medicine Doctor who has done six previous assignments with MSF. She divides her time between MSF and working for the NHS at home in North Wales. Jennifer was in Nyala, Darfur, from March to June this year, as part of the first team to re-enter the area since the start of the conflict.
Noon Salah Eldin
Noon Salah Eldin is a poet and spoken word artist based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Born and raised in Sudan, she moved to the UK in 2015 to pursue postgraduate medical training in paediatrics and child health. She is currently working towards completing her MSc in global health and infectious disease from the University of Edinburgh. Writing and performing poetry has become an increasingly important part of Noon’s life. It has empowered her to process and discuss experiences of childhood traumas, political upheaval, migration and motherhood. She believes that art can be a powerful tool for personal and social transformation and has been asked to share her poems by governmental, NGO, and civil-society organisations.