GENEVA: Dozens of Doctors Without Borders staff have been accused of sexually abusing Sudanese refugees in Chad, the organisation said on Monday, adding that it dismissed 18 workers after investigations found “serious misconduct”.
The medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF, said it had launched a series of investigations into “serious allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse” put forward in late 2024 by Sudanese refugees hosted in eastern Chad.
Since breaking out in April 2023, Sudan´s civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million people, nearly one million of whom have fled west to Chad, according to the United Nations.
In an email confirming information first reported by the Associated Press, MSF -- one of the biggest organisations providing aid in the refugee camps in eastern Chad -- said its investigations had found a number of cases of “serious misconduct”.
“We deeply regret the harm caused,” it said. The medical charity described how its investigations had over several months “identified allegations of misconduct, including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse”.
“While some of the 59 allegations were corroborated by the review, others remained unverified as in some cases neither victims nor perpetrators could be identified,” it said, stressing that “where investigations established serious misconduct, immediate disciplinary action was taken”.
“As a result, 18 staff have been dismissed and are now barred from working with MSF.” The organisation said the accused workers belonged to several employment categories, including contracted staff, daily workers, external contractors and suppliers.
