In brief
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has admitted that at least 59 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad were sexually abused by its staff in 2024. The abuses involved minors, with perpetrators offering food or jobs in exchange for sex, creating a pattern that critics say amounts to sexual trafficking. Only 18 staff members have been sacked so far, as MSF struggles to identify all alleged perpetrators. The scandal underscores the vulnerability of displaced communities amid the devastating Sudan civil war, where more than 11 million people have fled their homes and millions face acute hunger.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) admits staff sexually abused at least 59 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad during 2024.
Victims, many young girls, reported being offered food or employment in exchange for sex, with several abuses now linked to patterns of sexual trafficking.
MSF has fired 18 staff members, but the organization confesses it cannot identify all accused individuals.(AP News report)
Many survivors did not speak out because they feared that reporting would result in withheld aid; those who did report often received no support or reply, revealing inadequacies in MSF’s complaint procedures.
“This misconduct represents a serious breach of MSF’s values and responsibilities, and we deeply regret the harm caused,” MSF’s spokesperson said to reporters.
In the wider context, Sudan’s protracted civil war — a power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — has forced more than 11 million people from their homes, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Estimates of deaths range from 150 000 to 400 000.
Sexual violence is documented as a weapon of war in this conflict, with men, women, and children, including infants, targeted. Humanitarian workers worldwide have also faced sexual exploitation allegations in recent years, despite pledges to eliminate such abuses.
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