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1 big thing

Avril Benoît: Is ignoring humanitarian law the new norm?

1 big thing

Axios

News

42K Ratings

🗓️ 18 April 2024

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hospitals are supposed to be safe havens in a war. But Avril Benoît, the U.S. executive director for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says that's not the case in places including Sudan, where this week marks a year since the start of a brutal civil war. More than 14,000 people there have been killed, 8 million have been displaced, and some 25 million are in dire need of humanitarian aid as the health system crumbles. But the world's eyes--and dollars--are elsewhere, leaving groups like MSF begging for international help. Benoît tells Niala how Sudan shows us the fragile state of humanitarian law in crisis zones today. Guests: Avril Benoît, executive director for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières in the United States Credits: 1 big thing is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, and Jay Cowit. Music is composed by Alex Sugiura and Jay Cowit. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can send questions, comments and story ideas as a text or voice memo to Niala at 202-918-4893. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

A country torn up by violence and humanitarian groups left begging for help.

0:09.0

You feel like you're shouting into the wind, it's depressing as hell because nobody's interested.

0:14.0

You're not being heard.

0:16.0

That is how our colleagues in Sudan are feeling.

0:21.0

Today, while the world watches Gaza in Ukraine, the head of a leading aid group urges

0:26.8

us to turn our eyes to another area of dire need.

0:30.5

The more we allow this to continue, the more you can basically say the new norm is to tear up international

0:36.4

humanitarian law. With the crisis in Sudan tells us about challenges to

0:40.8

humanitarian aid around the globe. I'm Nailaboodoo from Axios. This is one big thing. The UN calls it one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.

1:07.0

Sadly today, a host of international crises might come to mind when you hear that description.

1:12.0

But the UN is talking there about Sudan. might come to mind when you hear that description.

1:12.5

But the UN is talking there about Sudan,

1:15.0

which this week marked one year of a brutal civil war

1:18.8

that shattered the country's medical system. There were luddings of hospitals, the one in Zellange that I saw. They took the solar panels that were providing the electricity

1:35.2

for the hospital, and they came in while there were

1:38.5

operations going on, you know, a woman having a C section,

1:42.1

and the surgeon is pleading with the armed group, the

1:46.8

RSF, please don't take the solar panels right now and in the middle of something,

1:50.5

take it after I'm done, I almost done here you know she's on

1:54.3

you know ventilator and everything and no they just took everything they they just

1:58.3

gutted the hospital and the woman died. Avril Benoit just returned from Sudan.

2:07.0

She's the U.S. executive director for Doctors Without Borders, known internationally

...

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