LILONGWE, Malawi

The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) medical charity urged protection Wednesday for its health workers and health facilities from violence in Mozambique’s conflict-hit northern province of Cabo Delgado.

MSF Mozambique senior medical doctor, Emerson Finiose, told reporters that the escalation of violence has “severely compromised access to health care for vulnerable communities” in the region.

Finiose said the charity was forced to suspend outreach activities five times for at least two weeks earlier this year.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 43,000 people have been displaced in attacks and violent incidents, and more than 134,000 were affected by violence in May.

“This development left thousands of people without access to health care and jeopardized the continuity of care for patients,” he said.

He said fighting and insecurity have led to the forced reduction of medical activities and limited the movements of health workers and the communities in affected areas.

“We are therefore calling for the protection of medical workers and health facilities from violence to ensure coordinated humanitarian response in places experiencing a surge of needs due to the arrival of displaced people,” said Finiose.

He said the districts of Macomia, Mocimboa da Praia, Muidumbe and Meluco are most affected.

Macomia, a major town in central Cabo Delgado, was attacked in May, forcing most MSF and other humanitarian organizations to stop or suspend activities, according to Finiose.

“We were gradually able to resume operations in April this year. More than a year after the attack, only one health facility is operational in the district. At least seven health units were functional before,” he said.

He said due to security threats, the medical charity was struggling to conduct medical referrals. “We must prioritize the most severe cases.”

“Cabo Delgado’s conflict has become a severe humanitarian crisis. It affects every aspect of life, especially health care and education and it strips people of their dignity. We need safe access to communities in need of support from other actors so that we can help them cope with the consequences of this crisis,” said Finiose.

Conflicts in the Cabo Delgado region erupted in 2017, with 1.3 million internal displacements recorded, according to OCHA.