GENEVA, Switzerland, May 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Please find below short updates from Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Central African Republic, where new clashes broke out in Bangui yesterday, from Sierra Leone, where our teams are helping the Ministry of Health respond to Ebola, and from South Sudan, where we have opened a 100-bed cholera treatment centre.
We have a range of spokespeople available for interviews in the field, plus photos of our activity in the Central African Republic and in South Sudan
The Central African Republic
New clashes in Bangui: MSF receives 9 new wounded in the General Hospital
A new attack took place yesterday (28 May) in a church in the Fatima neighbourhood, which is located near PK5, where thousands of Muslims are still stranded in an enclave. MSF’s team based in Bangui’s general hospital received nine new wounded people overnight.
“Over the past week tensions between young Christians and young Muslims in Bangui have intensified. On Sunday, we received 20 wounded in a single day and yesterday, nine new victims of violence arrived at the general hospital. It is now very difficult to move around the city of Bangui.” says Delphine Chedorge, head of mission for MSF.
Immediately after the attack, an MSF ambulance went to Fatima to take patients to the General Hospital, where MSF supports the surgical department.
Please find more details about the crisis in CAR here: http://www.msf.org.uk/country-region/central-african-republic
Sierra Leone
MSF team on the way to Kenema and Koindu to respond to Ebola
MSF is working closely with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to assess the situation. A team of two nurses, two logisticians and a water and sanitation specialist are on the way to Kenema and Koindu. They will prepare for the arrival of a permanent team with all the needed equipment. While this assessment is ongoing, our coordination team is working closely at national level with the MoH to support the national response.
South Sudan
MSF has set up 100-bed Cholera treatment centre
The cholera outbreak in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, continues to spread. The latest official statistics report 733 cholera cases.
The majority of cases continue to be treated in the main Ministry of Health hospital in the city, Juba Teaching Hospital, where MSF has sent four staff to support their cholera treatment activities.
MSF opened a dedicated 100-bed cholera treatment centre in the Gudele 2 district on Saturday 24 May, and will open another treatment centre and one or more oral rehydration points in the coming days. The plan is to have enough capacity to treat all patients if the epidemic accelerates, and to reduce some of the pressure on the very busy Juba Teaching Hospital.
By the morning of Wednesday 28 May the Gudele 2 treatment centre had seen 88 patients, with around 20 new patients arriving each day. As news of the new treatment centre spreads, we expect more patients to come, as it is close to some of the areas of Juba that are most affected by the outbreak.
Further cholera treatment supplies are being prepared, ready for sending to South Sudan in case the number of cholera patients rises sharply.
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