Sudan

MSF Staff Fired Over Alleged Refugee Sex Abuse in Chad

Is MSF a model of accountability or an institution that protected itself at refugees' expense?

Published JUN 16

MSF Staff Fired Over Alleged Refugee Sex Abuse in Chad

Story

Above: The Doctors Without Borders Paris Hospital in Tawila, Sudan, on Feb. 25. Image credit: Giles Clarke/Avaaz via Getty Images

The Facts

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has acknowledged 59 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation of Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad fleeing the civil war in Sudan, with the misconduct dating to 2024, according to an internal report seen by the Associated Press (AP).
The Associated Press
BBC News
Latestly
Completed in July 2025, MSF's investigation found that staff exchanged food, water, milk and jobs for sex with refugees, including underage girls, while describing repeated patterns of exploitation that could amount to "sexual trafficking."
The Associated Press
In one documented incident, seven refugee girls allegedly hired as daily workers were placed in an MSF vehicle under the pretense of traveling to work sites, then taken to a different location and "exposed to" sexual abuse and requests for sex.
The Associated Press
The report stated that many victims chose not to report the abuse, fearing it would jeopardize their access to humanitarian aid. Those who did sometimes received no response or follow-up support, while MSF's complaint mechanisms were judged ineffective.
The Associated Press
MSF staff and community leaders also reportedly refrained from raising concerns for fear of losing their employment. Partly as a result, the report noted that MSF was largely unaware of the scale of the abuse until the AP's reporting in 2024, for which MSF acknowledged the AP's "fundamental role as an external whistleblower."
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
The organization has subsequently dismissed 18 employees and barred them from future employment for their alleged involvement in the abuse, while telling the AP that it had since strengthened its recruitment efforts, reference checks and complaint systems.
The Associated Press
Ara
Al Jazeera

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

MSF takes misconduct seriously and has state-of-the-art systems in place to protect the vulnerable communities under its care. When abuse was found in Chad, the organization launched a full investigation, dismissed 18 staff members and barred them from future employment. That's accountability in action, not an internal cover-up.

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontières)

Narrative B

MSF spent over 11 months sitting on findings that showed 59 allegations of abuse, including sexual exploitation of underage girls and aid-for-sex schemes in Chad. The refusal to go public with its findings exposes it as an institution more preoccupied with protecting itself than its refugees, utterly undermining its moral authority.

Pamela Geller on X