Sudan: health facilities closing after funding cut, MSF warn
A volunteer at work in a Sudan health point
More than 30 health facilities serving nearly half a million people are at risk of closing in Sudan as international aid cuts continue to undermine the country’s already fragile healthcare system, Africanews reported on the 10th of September.
Humanitarian organisations warned in a statement issued on September 8 that the situation is becoming increasingly critical, as a civil war that has lasted for more than three years continues to fuel hunger, displacement and a worsening humanitarian crisis across the country.
Before the conflict, Sudan had more than 6,500 health facilities, including around 300 public hospitals. Nearly 80 per cent of healthcare facilities in the areas most severely affected by the war are now either at risk of closure or have already been forced to shut down, according to figures released by the World Health Organization in September 2024.
War and famine have increasingly come to define daily life in Sudan. The death toll has reached around 59,000, while as many as 13 million people have been displaced. Both figures are expected to continue rising as fighting and humanitarian emergencies persist.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in an assessment of the situation that humanitarian organisations are progressively withdrawing from several parts of the country, leaving clinics without essential medicines and medical equipment. As a result, patients, including those in critical conditions, are being forced to undertake long and costly journeys to reach functioning medical facilities.
“These cuts are eroding what little capacity remains, closing facilities, sending health workers home and disrupting supply chains for medicines and nutritional treatments. The system is already at its limit,” said Mesfin Teklu Tessema, senior health technical director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
According to MSF, healthcare workers have been unable to fill the gaps created by cuts to health aid that began in June 2026, as well as by the reduced financial support provided by several European countries over the past year.
One of the few remaining areas where humanitarian assistance is still available is the Um Rakuba camp in eastern Sudan’s Gedaref State. The camp is home to around 17,000 displaced people and is currently supported by more than 10 humanitarian organisations. However, this remains significantly fewer than the approximately 35 organisations operating there in 2021, according to MSF.
The crisis extends beyond the lack of medical treatment, with the collapse of healthcare services also increasing the risk of disease outbreaks. MSF emergency health manager Ali Almohammed warned that several outbreaks are already spreading in different parts of Sudan.
According to the Associated Press, outbreaks of malaria and cholera are already affecting communities across the country, while measles is becoming increasingly difficult to contain.
There have been several attempts to halt the conflict, including peace negotiations and sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations on some of the groups involved in the fighting. However, none of these initiatives has so far brought a significant improvement to the humanitarian situation.
As the war continues, Sudan’s healthcare system is being pushed further towards collapse, while international humanitarian organisations warn that further funding cuts could leave millions of people without access to basic medical care.
Africanews/MSF/World Health Organization/Maghrebi.org
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