Thanks

Thanks for organizing and having us

Also complicating things are Sudanese refugees from Southern Kordofan and Southern Blue Nile who were in camps near the border. They are now trapped between two war fronts without anywhere to turn.

The background to this conflict is complex and some of the key issues go back many decades. The issues which have triggered this crisis are political, economic, historic and ethnic. The sticking point still seems to be around the events of last summer (when the cabinet was sacked).
It is positive that parties are involved in talks and we all hope they will be fruitful – it is essential that dialogue remains open. #SSudanconflict

Interesting - just in today from the Guardian, story quoting Helen Clark of UNDP blaming international community for not seeing signs of conflict ahead of time. BUT NO MENTION OF ACCOUNTABILITY/JUSTICE (as opposed to just developing "rule of law") in her quote: "In countries with a legacy of conflict and disaster, it is vital to invest in the fundamental pillars of lasting peace and stability, including reconciliation and dialogue, the rule of law, good governance, social cohesion, and economic and environmental sustainability. These areas are all too often left at the margins while economic growth and service delivery are focused on. Official development assistance funding must prioritise these issues," she said in a speech at the London School of Economics on Tuesday. www.theguardian.com

Half a million people have been displaced from their homes, fleeing from one desperate situation to another. Most fled with nothing and the conditions in the displaced camps are very difficult, without enough water, food or shelter. Disease outbreaks in squalid conditions in the camps are of serious concern. Meanwhile, 86K people have fled to neighbouring countries, where MSF teams are also providing healthcare to the refugees.

The second major challenge we face is the appalling lack of respect for humanitarian facilities and staff. Despite that all sides have committed to respecting humanitarian activities & MSF’s willingness to scale-up operations & do more, on the ground MSF has had to evacuate staff on five separate occasions due to insecurity, and two facilities (Bentiu & Malakal) have been looted, leaving thousands of people without desperately needed healthcare. We need respect from all warring parties for the neutrality of health facilities, and the safety of patients and staff, or we simply can’t do our job.

For MSF we believe the delivery of humanitarian aid should not be linked to any political process and should be respected at all times in conflict. While of course we would welcome a ceasefire, humanitarian access cannot be conditional to the cessation of hostilities. In fact, humanitarian access is even more important during hostilities, when so many people are affected by the conflict.

Sad thing is that the people at the negotiating table appear immune and indifferent to the people's suffering
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Hello everybody I am so upset with the way things are handled with regard to the conflict in south sudan...the international community have to act now to stop the humanitarian crisis and take measures to make parties involved ceasefire.

In many areas, the healthcare system has collapsed due to the conflict – the clinics have not be re-supplied and the medical staff have fled, leaving women without a safe place to give birth or sick children with nowhere to turn. We also see that host communities are increasingly affected by the huge numbers of displaced that have arrived in their areas – for example Awerial in Lakes State was home to 10,000 people and now more than 85,000 displaced now call it their home too.