On November 28, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) set up a temporary clinic in Doro. To date MSF has conducted 700 consultations in the temporary clinic, including 100 patients treated for malaria and more than 100 ante natal consultations. Because this is not a good sanitary environment for giving birth, a midwife will shortly join the MSF team, which also includes a doctor, a nurse, two clinical officers, a health promotion officer and other humanitarian emergency specialists.

Most of the refugees seeking medical attention present with respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases. This is largely due to people sleeping without shelters in the cold nights and the lack of clean drinking water and accessible sanitation. Malaria is also common.

The clinic is providing vaccines, notably against measles, tuberculosis and tetanus for specifically vulnerable individuals and young children. Children suffering from malnutrition are receiving ready-to-use therapeutic foods fortified with the proteins and minerals they need to regain their strength.

MSF’s water and sanitation specialists have started digging latrines and are setting up temporary measures to speed up the supply of chlorinated water. These are emergency measures until other nongovernmental organisations can scale up their operations to provide comprehensive water and sanitation services.

In all, MSF has 15 international staff and upwards of 70 locally hired staff working to provide the urgent healthcare and basic water and sanitation requirements in Doro. MSF logisticians have started setting up a dedicated clinic in the heart of what will be Doro refugee camp. The team expects to start mobile clinics or other medical services in other areas of Maban County affected by the sudden influx of refugees.