As the war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 33 million people in different parts of the country requiring medical assistance, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that declining international funding and the closure of dozens of health facilities have increased pressure on the facilities that remain operational and continue to provide life-saving care.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan faces a major funding shortfall, having received only 41 percent of the $2.86 billion required, leaving millions of Sudanese at risk.
Severe Challenges
In its latest statement, Médecins Sans Frontières said Sudan is facing severe difficulties in accessing healthcare, as many organizations operating in the health sector have been unable to secure alternative sources of funding following widespread cuts in international aid by governments.
The organization noted that the withdrawal of relief organizations from large parts of the country, particularly from displacement camps, has left clinics without funding or medicines. For patients, this means undertaking long and dangerous journeys in search of treatment. MSF confirmed that the number of admissions to facilities it supports in Zalingei, Central Darfur, increased by 22.5 percent between January and April 2026 compared with the same period last year.
The organization warned that the situation could deteriorate further, particularly as 45 public healthcare centers in Central Darfur ceased operations in May due to a lack of funding by the organization that had been providing them with resources. MSF called on the international community to protect funding for essential health services and take urgent measures to prevent further deterioration of healthcare services in Sudan, amid a 21.3 percent decline in international aid in 2025 compared with the previous year.
A Severe Crisis
In this context, Mohamed Ibrahim, head of Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan, said that “the ongoing war in the country has led to funding cuts and a reduction in the humanitarian response, which determines the country’s needs. When funding stops, clinics close, patients have fewer places to seek care, and pressure is consequently transferred to the facilities that remain operational.”
Ibrahim added that “withdrawing support from a crisis that already suffers from chronic underfunding cuts off life-saving care and threatens the remaining hospitals with collapse. For example, the Al-Hamidiyah displacement center in Central Darfur, which provides maternal and pediatric care as well as psychological support, is now operating at extremely limited capacity after a humanitarian organization suspended its support. The number of daily patient visits has fallen from 200 to around 40—not because people have become healthier, but because the center can no longer provide them with treatment and medicines. Vaccination services have also stopped completely.”
He pointed out that “critical gaps in healthcare continue to affect 600 displaced people in Tawila, North Darfur, despite the presence of 50 non-governmental organizations in the area. Médecins Sans Frontières is the only organization capable of launching a large-scale response to any outbreak in Tawila, at a time when malaria and malnutrition cases are beginning to rise.”
Ibrahim continued, saying that “during August, the organization admitted 191 children under the age of five suffering from severe acute malnutrition to the hospital facility it operates in Tawila. Around 22 percent of them also tested positive for malaria.”
A Humanitarian Disaster
For his part, displaced person Adam Ramadan, from the Tawila camp in North Darfur, explained that “patients in the Tawila camp face a serious threat because of limited access to treatment and their heavy reliance on international organizations’ support, while relief supplies, including medicines, have been halted. Their lives will be at risk and their suffering from disease will worsen as treatment opportunities become more limited, particularly because the camp hosts large numbers of children, women, and elderly people.”
Ramadan continued: “The humanitarian situation among displaced people has reached a critical stage. They are constantly searching for sources of income to help them buy food after food assistance rations were reduced, so they can protect themselves from disease. It is well known that without food, there can be no health.”
He added that “displaced people in the camp received increasing attention from international organizations following the events in El Fasher and its fall to the Rapid Support Forces. These organizations stood by them through actual visits and by listening to their testimonies, which contributed to the regular delivery of assistance. This was evident in the arrival of relief convoys to the camp. However, ongoing security risks and threats continue to obstruct the delivery of services to more than 600,000 people, reflecting the deteriorating conditions and the urgent need for humanitarian assistance.”
The displaced person noted that “there is currently only one hospital in the area providing patient care and combating diseases and epidemics. However, it is certain that funding shortages and the inability of organizations to provide humanitarian assistance will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe inside the camp.”
Suffering and Deaths
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Siddiq, a humanitarian activist, said the health crisis was not limited to the destruction of hospitals but also included the collapse of the systems that enable them to function. The war has forced large numbers of doctors and nurses to leave the country in search of safety and livelihoods. It has also disrupted medical supplies and made it difficult to transport medicines, while ambulances have stopped operating because of fuel shortages.
Power outages, meanwhile, have caused intensive-care equipment, laboratories, and blood and vaccine storage systems to stop functioning, exposing civilians to serious risks and resulting in numerous deaths.
He noted that medical facilities in areas experiencing ongoing fighting have increasingly relied on volunteer initiatives and Emergency Response Rooms, which operate with limited resources and face the risks of bombardment, arrest, and shortages of supplies. He stressed that the suspension of operations by several humanitarian organizations that had provided healthcare services in displacement camps has further worsened the suffering of displaced people, particularly pregnant women requiring Caesarean sections, forcing them to undertake journeys lasting several hours in search of medical care.
Siddiq explained that “there was a displacement camp in Gedaref State in eastern Sudan where health activities were extensive because 35 relief organizations were providing a wide range of services, including medical care. Today, fewer than 10 organizations remain, while the camp currently hosts around 1,000 displaced people, most of them women and children.”
The community activist noted that “the funding shortage has gone beyond healthcare to include food rations and reductions in protection programs, removing the last remaining safety nets and leaving displaced people and refugees increasingly vulnerable.”
