Crisis in Sudan
Sudan’s health system under extreme strain
What is MSF calling for?
The war in Sudan has entered its fourth year. Millions have been displaced, basic services have collapsed in much of the country, and the war continues to deepen medical and humanitarian needs across the country.
Access to healthcare should never be obstructed by bureaucracy. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) must allow and facilitate unhindered access for MSF and INGOs and aid agencies to help people excluded from care.
Influential international stakeholders must urgently apply diplomatic pressure on those financing, arming, or politically supporting the warring parties in Sudan. They must ensure that all responsible uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Both RSF and SAF have attacked humanitarian and medical aid. Every attack or obstruction against health workers, facilities, or humanitarian aid puts lives in danger and cuts off communities from the care they depend on:
Since April 15, 2023, WHO has verified 217 attacks on healthcare in Sudan, which killed 2,052 health workers and patients, and injured 810. MSF calls on both RSF and SAF to fulfil their obligation to ensure that civilians, medical structures and personnel are protected, and the delivery of humanitarian aid is not hindered.
The suffering in Sudan is not just a humanitarian crisis but a political failure on a collective global scale. Cuts to humanitarian aid is hurting communities stuck in this war. The humanitarian response is underfunded, deprioritized, and stalled by a lack of political will — both internationally and within Sudan.
MSF urges the donor community to increase support and funding for Sudan to at least sustain a reasonable level of humanitarian response.
What is happening in Sudan?
On April 15, 2023, intense fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and across most of the country. Since then, the conflict has killed and injured thousands of people.
Sudan’s health system is operating under extreme strain and the weight of more than three years of a war that has now entered its fourth year and suffering continues to increase. An economic freefall, overwhelmed health facilities, and critical shortages of medical supplies, equipment and medical staff are leaving millions without access to the care they urgently need.
Basic primary health care is becoming increasingly difficult to access, let alone specialised secondary or tertiary care. Shortages of essential medicines, staffing and medical equipment are compromising the quality of care and limiting the ability of healthcare facilities to respond to the growing needs.
Without greater and faster humanitarian support and expansion in medical activities and sustained healthcare, preventable diseases and death will continue to rise.
The medical consequences on people due to the war, especially children and women, are catastrophic. MSF teams are treating patients due to preventable diseases and severe malnutrition, and survivors of sexual violence in a limited humanitarian space to respond.
People displaced by the war (UN figures)
33.7 million people in Sudan need humanitarian assistance (OCHA)
- Nearly 14 million people have been forcibly displaced – 9.9 million internally and 4.5 to neighbouring countries, mainly Chad, Egypt and South Sudan (OCHA)
- 8.4 million need nutrition assistance, 5 million children under five and 3.4 million pregnant and breastfeeding women (OCHA)
- More than 12 million people in Sudan, mostly women and girls, are at risk of GBV, a figure that has surged by 350 per cent since the conflict began (UNFPA)
- 37% of the health facilities are non-functional leaving a large segment of the population without access to essential healthcare (WHO)
- Since the conflict started in April 2023, the WHO has verified 217 attacks on healthcare, killing at least 2,052 health workers and patients, and injuring 810 (WHO).
What is MSF doing?
MSF teams provide surgical and emergency care, wound management, physiotherapy, maternity, nutrition and paediatric services, primary healthcare, routine vaccination and reactive vaccination campaigns, sexual and reproductive health care, outbreak response and epidemiological surveillance, distribution of non-food items (NFIs) and mental health support. We are also constructing boreholes and latrines, providing water trucking and water treatment and distributing food and water in IDP camps.
MSF activities in numbers:
- 2 hospitals run by MSF
- 2 clinics run by MSF
- 13 hospitals supported by MSF*
- 18 Primary Health Centres supported by MSF
- We are working in 10 of Sudan’s 18 states
*Most facilities are Ministry of Health (MoH) structures where MSF supports specific services and departments, except for Tawila, Um Rakuba, and Daba Naira, which are fully managed by MSF.
In Sudan
MSF is currently working in Khartoum State, Blue Nile, Gedaref, White Nile, North Kordofan, South Kordofan, Central and West Darfur, North Darfur and South Darfur.
Between January—July 2026, MSF teams responding to the war in Sudan have carried out more than:
outpatient consultations
ITFC and ATFC admissions
Surgical procedures
Emergency presentations
Hospital admissions
In South Sudan
Since the eruption of conflict in Sudan, over 1 million people have crossed into South Sudan to seek refuge, according to the UNHCR. This influx has overwhelmed the already dire humanitarian situation in the country. Our teams are running emergency activities in Renk, Abyei special administrative area and Juba to provide the refugees and returnees with healthcare services, including care for people with war-related injuries. After a cholera outbreak was declared in Renk, MSF teams vaccinated people in Renk, Malakal, Rubkona and Juba, as well as in Gorom refugee camp.
In Chad
Over 800,000 refugees and returnees have crossed the border from Sudan to Chad, according to the UNHCR. People are living in camps in Chad and are facing difficulties securing even their most basic needs. With a lack of water, food, proper shelter and healthcare they are suffering from diarrhea, malnutrition and malaria. are suffering from diarrhea, malnutrition and malaria.
MSF teams are responding in three border regions: Sila, Wadi Fira and Ouaddaï.
In Chad, we provide basic healthcare, malnutrition screening and treatment, vaccinations as well as sexual and reproductive healthcare through existing local health facilities and mobile clinics. Our teams have also begun digging boreholes to supply camps and local communities with water. In some places, we provide refugee communities with plastic sheeting, mosquito nets and bars of soap, which are crucial to prevent the spread of malaria and diarrhea.
Zamzam camp
Feb. 24 update: Due to the current escalation of attacks and fighting in and around Zamzam camp for displaced people, MSF has been forced to suspend all activities in the camp near El Fasher in North Darfur, including the MSF hospital. Meanwhile, our teams continue to run emergency activities in Tawila and seeks ways to assist people in Zamzam and El Fasher without exposing staff to unacceptable risk levels.
How can I help MSF?
Your donation helps MSF teams deliver essential medical care to families forced to flee violence and instability.
GIVE NOWThe crisis explained
Following a military coup in 2021, most international assistance to Sudan was frozen. This led to an economic crisis and increased food insecurity.
Sudan’s healthcare system was also extremely fragile even before the recent escalation in violence and access to basic medical services has been a challenge for most people. This critical situation has been caused by a combination of recurring violence and conflict, the economic situation and the cost of healthcare, and an overall lack of medical staff and resources.
MSF and conflicts
Around one-quarter of our projects are dedicated to assisting people living in areas of war and armed conflict including Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sudan, Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen among many others.
Armed conflict devastates lives and destroys communities. Targeted, harassed and caught in hardship and poverty, people are forced into flight or to live under siege and face indiscriminate attacks. Access to basic needs such as food and medical care is often disrupted.
Comprehensive medical and humanitarian support is vital, though health services are often scarce. MSF provides medical care based on needs alone and works hard to reach people who need help the most.
