Evan Atar Adaha (born 1960 or 1966 or 1967) is a

South Sudanese South Sudan is home to around 60 indigenous ethnic groups and 80 linguistic partitions among a population of around million. Historically, most ethnic groups were lacking in formal Western political institutions, with land held by the communi ...

surgeon who won the

Nansen Refugee Award The Nansen Refugee Award is a medal issued annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless pe ...

in 2018. Adaha left his physician's job in Egypt to provide healthcare in Sudan during the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...

. When violence forced him out of

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, he relocated to

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

and set up the only hospital in Upper Nile State that provides surgical capacity.

Early life and education

Adaha was born in

Torit Torit is a city of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. History On 18 August 1955, the Equatoria Corps mutinied at Torit, starting the First Sudanese Civil War. In 1964 the military government in Khartoum closed "all the Christian miss ...

Eastern Equatoria Eastern Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 73,472 km2. The capital city is Torit. On October 1, 1972, the state was divided into Imatong and Namorunyang states and was re-established by a peace agreement signed on 22 F ...

in 1966 or 1967. He attended primary school in Juba and attended university in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

. He won a scholarship to study medicine in Egypt and received surgical training in Canada.

Career

After graduation, Adaha worked as a doctor in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Egypt, returning to Sudan in 1997 to work in

Kurmuk : Kurmuk () is a town in south-eastern Sudan near the border with Ethiopia. Kurmuk is inhabited by the Uduk and Berta peoples. Kurmuk is the administrative center for most of Gindi District, Kolnugura district, Borfa District, Jammus Omm Dist ...

, Blue Nile state during the Second Sudanese Civil War. In 2011, violence from the war forced him to relocate to Bunj,

Maban County Greater Maban (which means ''the people of the land'') is a county located in the Upper Nile State of South Sudan. The county capital is the town of Bunj. In 2017, the South Sudan government divided the county into two: North East and South West. ...

Upper Nile State Upper Nile is a state in South Sudan. The White Nile flows through the state, giving it its name. The state also shares a similar name with the region of Greater Upper Nile, of which it was part along with the states of Unity and Jonglei. It had ...

. Adaha and his patients carried medical supplies and equipment from Kurmuk to Maban by hand, during a month-long walk between the two locations, avoiding aerial bombardments from the

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare branch of the Military of Sudan, Sudanese Armed Forces. It was established in 1956 following Sudan's independence earlier that year, and first saw action in the First Sudanese Civil War. ...

. He set up the Maban Referral Hospital, colloquially known as ''Dr. Atar's Hospital'', to provide healthcare to a surrounding population of 200,000 people, including 144,000 Sudanese refugees from the

Blue Nile state Blue Nile State ( ') is one of the eighteen states of the Republic of the Sudan. It was established by presidential decree nº 3 in 1992 and it is named after the Blue Nile River. The region is host to around forty different ethnic groups. Its e ...

; it is the only hospital in the state that provides surgical services. The hospital has 120-beds, two operating theatres facility, a neonatal section, and a tuberculosis ward. As of 2018, hospital had no

blood bank A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a department of a hospital usually within a clinical pathology labora ...

, the x-ray machine was broken, the generators frequently break, anaesthesia capacity is limited and the theatres are lit with a single bulb. Staff, in 2018, included two Kenyan and a Ugandan doctor supported by several administration staff and midwives primarily from Kenya and Uganda. The hospital was donated an autoclave by

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

and received financial support from British members of parliament before getting support from the South Sudanese government.

Personal life

Adaha was 52 years old in 2018. He is married and with four children, who live in Nairobi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adaha, Evan Atar 1960s births South Sudanese physicians Hospital administrators People from Eastern Equatoria Living people Nansen Refugee Award laureates