MSF report finds staff exploited Sudanese refugees in Chad
An internal investigation found 59 abuse allegations involving refugees and staff in Chad, leading MSF to dismiss 18 employees and bar them from future work.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
An internal Doctors Without Borders investigation found that local and international staff exploited refugees in Chad, including allegations involving underage girls and the exchange of aid or jobs for sex, according to The Associated Press. The findings add to scrutiny of aid operations serving Sudanese refugees who have fled into eastern Chad during Sudan’s civil war.
The aid group, widely known by its French initials MSF, completed the internal report last July, AP reported. The organization acknowledged 59 allegations of misconduct and said the real number was likely higher because some survivors were unwilling to come forward.
MSF dismissed 18 local and foreign staff members and barred them from future employment, according to AP. The allegations covered sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, MSF told AP, calling the findings “a candid internal analysis” of failures in its systems.
Allegations followed earlier reporting
MSF began the investigation in 2024 after an AP investigation published in November that year found that Sudanese women seeking refuge in Chad had been offered jobs and assistance in return for sex by aid workers and local security forces, AP reported.
Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people have crossed into eastern Chad as Sudan’s civil war enters its fourth year, according to AP. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, and MSF is among the largest organizations responding in refugee camps in Chad, AP reported.
In its internal report, MSF said it had put additional resources into preventing and addressing abuse in Chad, including staff training, but said those steps did not have a lasting effect, according to AP.
Report cites fear of losing aid
MSF told AP the 59 allegations were a serious breach of the group’s values and responsibilities and said it regretted the harm caused. The organization said its investigation found that Sudanese refugees and some Chadian MSF staff had been exploited and abused.
According to AP, MSF said it found cases in which female refugees, including girls under 18, were prostituted. In one case described in the report, seven refugee girls who were allegedly hired as day workers were placed in an MSF vehicle and told they were being taken to water distribution and construction sites, but were instead taken elsewhere and exposed to sexual abuse and demands for sex, AP reported.
The report also found that some survivors stayed silent during inquiries because they feared losing access to assistance, according to AP. In some cases, people who did report abuse did not receive support afterward, the report found.
MSF said in the report that it could not identify every person involved because of the scale of the refugee emergency and the movement of people, AP reported. The organization said it is strengthening its systems to prevent and detect abuse, including confidential reporting channels.
AP reported that MSF said similar allegations had surfaced before, including during the 2021 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.