MSF Fires 18 Staff After Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) disclosed that it identified a pattern of sexual abuse and exploitation by some local and international staff working along Chad's border with Sudan, where the war began in April 2023.

“- Published Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) admits its staff were accused of sexually abusing at least 59 Sudanese refugees who had fled the civil war in search of safety”

BBC

RFI said an MSF investigation, revealed via a confidential internal note, uncovered more than 50 allegations of abuse and sexual exploitation involving some MSF staff against Sudanese refugees, and that 18 people were dismissed within MSF Chad.

BBC

The BBC reported that MSF admits its staff were accused of sexually abusing at least 59 Sudanese refugees who had fled the civil war in search of safety, with young girls exploited in some cases.

The BBC added that the offences were committed in eastern Chad and date back to 2024, about a year into Sudan's still-raging civil war, while MSF said it was unable to identify some of the other alleged perpetrators.

MSF told reporters, in response to AP’s investigation, that it had sacked 18 culprits but was unable to identify some of the other alleged perpetrators, and it said it deeply regretted the harm caused.

The BBC quoted MSF saying, "This misconduct represents a serious breach of MSF's values and responsibilities, and we deeply regret the harm caused," as it described victims’ fears that access to vital aid could be withheld in retaliation.

RFI

RFI reported that, following a months-long internal investigation, 18 MSF employees were dismissed and barred from any future employment within the organization, while in many cases allegations could not be fully verified because victims or alleged perpetrators could not be identified.

The Arabic-language report said the memo documented 59 allegations, noted the dismissal of 18 staff members and their future ban from working with the organization, and said some claims could not be independently verified or definitively attributed to specific individuals.

The BBC framed the MSF scandal within Sudan’s broader humanitarian catastrophe, saying more than 11 million people have been forced from their homes and 28 million face acute hunger.

“Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the international relief organization, disclosed that it has identified a pattern of sexual abuse and exploitation by some local and international staff working along Chad's border with Sudan”

Sudanail

It also said there is no definitive death toll but the dead are thought to number at least 150,000 and could be as high as 400,000, with mass sexual violence documented as a weapon of war in the conflict.

RFI reported that MSF’s investigation in eastern Chad, along the border with Sudan, involved refugee camps including Adré, Aboutengué, and Metché, and that MSF acknowledged flaws in recruitment procedures such as insufficient identity checks that sometimes allowed minors to be recruited as day laborers.

The Arabic-language report said a UN report issued earlier this month noted the Sudan conflict has weighed heavily on Chad, which has hosted more than 900,000 Sudanese refugees and 300,000 returning Chadians since April 2023, straining national resources and worsening the humanitarian crisis.