Khartoum/Brussels - Approximately one in six war-wounded patients treated since January 2024 at the Bashair Teaching hospital in south Khartoum, Sudan, have been children under the age of 15 years old. Many of these children have suffered gunshot, blast, and shrapnel wounds. On top of this, doctors are concerned about the spike in children arriving at the hospital with severe malnutrition.

The lack of supplies to treat these children is a needless layer of complexity, as it is within the power of warring parties to allow supplies to reach hospitals.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams working alongside hospital staff at Bashair Teaching hospital have treated more than 4,214 patients for trauma injuries caused by violence, including gun shots and bomb blasts, since 2024. Of these, 16 per cent were children under 15 years of age.

Bashair Teaching hospital is one of the last functioning hospitals in south Khartoum, providing emergency care, surgery, and maternity services. This care is critical for war-wounded children, like the 314 who have been treated at the hospital for gunshot and blast wounds so far in 2024.