Sudan’s health system is nearing total collapse after two years of conflict, with millions of lives at risk as medical services dwindle, disease outbreaks rise, and humanitarian access remains severely limited.
With the rainy season approaching, the country is grappling with a deadly mix of malnutrition, multiple disease outbreaks, and a crumbling healthcare infrastructure. Over 30 million people now require humanitarian aid, including more than 20 million in critical need of health services. Yet ongoing insecurity, repeated attacks on medical facilities, and severe shortages of essential medicines have made delivering care nearly impossible.
“Hospitals are shutting down or barely functioning. Health workers are operating under threat, and we’re seeing the spread of diseases in areas we can hardly reach,” said Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “The situation is dire, and we need urgent access and funding to reach vulnerable communities.”
Currently, over two-thirds of Sudan’s states are facing three or more disease outbreaks simultaneously, including cholera, dengue, measles, and malaria—driven by the collapse of water and sanitation systems and disruption of vaccination programs. Children are increasingly dying from preventable illnesses, and widespread hunger is compounding the crisis.
Malnutrition rates are soaring, especially among young children and mothers. Famine has already been confirmed in five areas, and forecasts suggest 24.6 million people—half the country’s population—could face acute food insecurity in 2025. Among them are 770,000 children under five at risk of severe acute malnutrition.
Since April 2023, WHO has documented 156 attacks on health facilities, resulting in 318 deaths and 273 injuries—flagrant violations of international humanitarian law that continue to undermine Sudan’s healthcare capacity.
Despite the challenges, the World Health Organization and its partners have managed to provide limited but vital support. More than one million patients have been reached with WHO-supported services, and 52 hospitals have received assistance. Mass vaccination campaigns have immunized over 10 million children against measles and rubella, 11.5 million against polio, and nearly 12.8 million people against cholera.
WHO has also helped treat nearly 50,000 children with severe acute malnutrition and supported the launch of Sudan’s first malaria vaccine rollout, which has reached over 35,000 children in Gedaref and Blue Nile states since November 2024.
The agency has expanded mental health and psychosocial services, particularly for survivors of gender-based and sexual violence, while continuing to deliver essential medical supplies—more than 2,250 metric tons—across Sudan’s 18 states through both domestic and cross-border operations.
In partnership with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, the World Bank, and UNICEF, WHO recently launched the Sudan Health Assistance and Response in Emergencies (SHARE) project. This initiative aims to restore the functionality of hospitals and primary care centers, bridging emergency and long-term development needs.
Still, the response falls far short of the scale required. WHO’s $135 million response plan for 2025 is only 20 percent funded.
“Sudan’s health workers are doing the impossible with almost nothing,” said Dr. Balkhy. “They need urgent protection, resources, and access to continue saving lives. Time is running out.”
WHO is calling on all parties involved in the conflict to allow safe and sustained humanitarian access and to uphold international humanitarian law. Health care, they stress, is not just a right—it is a lifeline now hanging by a thread.