Nduta (Tanzania) : an SOS for a dying child

The camp administration has denied access to care for a child under five who requires intensive care outside Nduta camp in Tanzania. The NGO MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) finds itself in a position not to transfer the dying child and appeals to the indulgence of the administration, which has nevertheless replied that the child must return to be treated at home in Burundi. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The four-year-old boy is called Angélo Harerimana. His parents live in village 17 of zone I, house number 93. At the beginning of last July, he accidentally broke his left arm and requires urgent and intensive care.

“He had been admitted to the camp hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières. So the doctors assessed his situation and opted to transfer him to the district referral hospital as a very urgent case”, his parents explained.

For this transfer to be finalized, the camp administration must first give its authorization, which the camp president categorically refused.

“MSF’s request went unanswered for more than a week. And when we went to ask for permission, the president of the camp was clear: ‘you have to go home so that the child can receive care in his native country’. We were surprised and very disappointed”, they add.

And they clarified, “MSF tried to insist, in vain. So, at the moment our son is dying. He is dying all the time. The open fracture and the wound are rotting away. The whole house has a bad smell. We can’t take it anymore. We are overwhelmed”.

This Burundian family indicates that “returning to Burundi is not a problem if it is a decision taken in soul and conscience, but not by force or constraint”.

Local leaders tried to seize other humanitarian agencies.

“All are unanimous that the child must be rescued, but nothing can be done without the authorization of the camp administration”, they said indignantly.

These Burundian refugees speak of “inhuman treatment” and “serious violations of the rights to life, punishable by international judicial authorities”.

They alert and warn the current president of the Nduta camp that if anything happens to the young boy, “he will take full responsibility”.

The latter is also cited in several cases of violation of the rights of refugees in the large Nduta camp which shelters more than 76,000 Burundian refugees.