An internal probe by the medical charity found 59 allegations, including claims that water, milk, and jobs were exchanged for sex<\/p>\n
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has fired 18 staff members after an internal investigation found allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation involving Sudanese refugees in Chad, AP reported on Saturday, citing a confidential internal memo.
\nThe medical charity said the dismissed workers have been barred from future employment. The report by the non-profit organization found 59 allegations involving local and foreign staff in camps along Chad\u2019s border with Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
\nSome cases reportedly involved underage girls; others included allegations that staff exchanged food, water, milk, and jobs for sex. It described the findings as evidence of \u201csexual abuse and exploitation\u201d and said repeated exploitation in some cases suggested possible organized sex trafficking.
\nMSF told AP that the findings amounted to \u201ca candid internal analysis\u201d of failures in its safeguards. The group said it has strengthened recruitment checks, complaint systems, and reporting channels since the probe. It added that some allegations could not be verified because victims and alleged perpetrators could not be traced.
\nThe investigation followed earlier AP reporting in 2024, when Sudanese women in displacement camps in Chad accused aid workers and local security personnel of offering money, jobs, and easier access to assistance in exchange for sex.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: War triples Sudan\u2019s poverty rate to over 70%<\/p>\n
The case adds to years of controversy over abuse in the aid sector. The MSF memo reportedly acknowledged similar concerns during the 2021 Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and sex-for-aid scandals involving aid agencies in refugee camps in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone that came to light in the early 2002.<\/p>\n
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An independent commission also found in 2021 that 83 aid workers, including 21 World Health Organization employees, were involved in sexual abuse and exploitation during the 2018-2020 Ebola response in the DR Congo.
\nThe allegations come as Sudan faces what the UN calls the world\u2019s largest displacement and protection crisis. Chad has become one of the main destinations for people fleeing the conflict, with more than a million Sudanese refugees crossing into the neighboring country since the fighting began, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.<\/p>\n
On Monday, UN human rights chief Volker Turk\u00a0said\u00a0\u201cthe horrific conflict\u201d in Sudan has \u201cexpanded and escalated,\u201d with a \u201csharp increase\u201d in drone warfare, as well as rape and sexual violence. He said his office has documented the killing of more than 1,000 civilians by drone strikes from January to May alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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