The Kunduz Trauma Centre was a hospital operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan from 29 August 2011 until 3 October 2015 when it was destroyed in an airstrike by a United States Air Force AC-130U gunship.
Before the bombing, the MSF's hospital was the only active medical facility in the area. It has been the only trauma center in northeastern Afghanistan.
In 2014, more than 22,000 patients were treated at this emergency trauma center and more than 5,900 surgeries were performed."Afghanistan: MSF demands explanations after deadly airstrikes hit hospital in Kunduz", MSF (4 October 2015).
Facilities The hospital was opened on 29 August 2011 with 55 beds, two operating theatres, an intensive care unit, and X-ray and laboratory facilities, with separate male and female inpatient wards.Afghanistan: MSF Opens Surgical Hospital in Kunduz , MSF
By late 2012, the number of beds had increased to 58.An Orthopaedic Surgeon's experience in Afghanistan MSF – Kunduz Trauma Centre, Ihab M. Emran, sicot.org
When it was destroyed, the centre had added a third operating theatre.
July 2015 incident In a previous incident, on 1 July 2015, heavily armed men from the Afghan National Army attempted to arrest three patients by entering the compound with weapons, physically assaulting three staff members and threatening one staff member at gunpoint. According to MSF, approximately one hour later the armed men left the hospital compound without the patients.Afghanistan: MSF condemns violent armed intrusion in hospital in Kunduz, MSF
Evacuation and shutdown The US airstrike in October 2015 made the hospital unusable. All critical patients were referred to other providers, and all MSF staff were evacuated from Kunduz.
References
External links
‘Look for Hospitals as Targets’: The historical record suggests that the US bombing of an Afghan hospital was no accident. Greg Grandin for The Nation. 5 October 2015. Médecins Sans Frontières releases internal review of the Kunduz hospital attack, 5 October 2015.