https://arab.news/za75h
The toll of the war in Sudan goes far beyond damaged infrastructure and lost lives — it has inflicted deep wounds on the dignity of its people. Families are torn apart, healthcare systems lie in ruins, and routine medical care has become a distant memory. The conflict has turned everyday survival into a monumental challenge; civilians face violence, displacement, hunger, and illness without access to even basic health services.
This unfolding tragedy not only undermines the past sense of normalcy but also erodes hope. The inability to care for the sick and vulnerable assaults the core of human dignity. Hospitals have been attacked, clinics looted and occupied, and health workers have either fled, been threatened, or paid with their lives. These are not just physical injuries — this is a psychological blow to a nation’s spirit.
Over the past two years, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has turned critical portions of the health system into ghost towns. Almost 38 percent of health facilities have been rendered nonfunctional, and just 14 percent of hospitals still operate at full capacity, according to assessments by the World Health Organization’s HeRAMS monitoring program. Khartoum — once the heartbeat of Sudan’s health services, providing close to 70 percent of national care — has been particularly devastated. In many areas, medical facilities lie in ruins, with equipment destroyed or looted, and essential supply chains severed.
Physical buildings are one thing, but the collapse of system-wide structure is far worse. Laboratories have shut down, pharmacies stand empty, vaccine cold chains have failed, and even simple medicines like antibiotics or insulin are scarce. Without trained staff, even basic functions like triage or sanitation are impossible. Women face childbirth without skilled attendants; patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease, are ignored. The interruption of services for dialysis, antenatal care, and trauma threatens countless lives every day.
On top of this devastation, Sudan is in the grip of multiple, overlapping epidemics. Cholera has spread to almost all of the country’s states, overwhelming treatment centers, particularly in Darfur, where the toll has been especially heavy. Measles, once controlled through routine immunization, is surging, with almost 10,000 cases treated by Medecins Sans Frontieres clinics between June 2024 and May 2025. Hundreds of thousands of children have not received any vaccines, leaving them vulnerable to preventable diseases. Malaria cases are also surging, though true numbers are likely underreported due to collapsed surveillance systems. Alarmingly, 3.4 million children under five are at heightened risk from diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and measles.
This confluence of disease and conflict is happening alongside a humanitarian catastrophe. More than two-thirds of the population now needs aid, with millions facing famine-level hunger. Food shortages, coupled with skyrocketing prices and population displacement, have left countless Sudanese on the brink of starvation. Even in areas not directly under fire, malnutrition is causing immune systems to fail, making people more vulnerable to illness, and more likely to die of what would, in normal times, be treatable or preventable ailments.
If current trends continue unchecked, Sudan faces a bleak future. Without functional health services, disease outbreaks will repeat year after year, claiming lives in waves. Preventable deaths will climb as complications from childbirth, infections, and chronic illnesses go untreated. Starvation will weaken the population further, creating a cycle of suffering that deepens with each passing season. Deaths will not just be tallied in tolls from violence but will come quietly, in homes, camps, and the streets.
Moreover, Sudan’s collapse is already spilling beyond its borders. The country hosts one of the largest internal displacement crises globally, and refugees fleeing by the hundreds of thousands are crossing into Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, and beyond. Overcrowded, under-resourced camps have become breeding grounds for disease, with cholera and measles now spreading across borders. Neighboring countries, many also with fragile systems, risk being overwhelmed. Healthcare resources are being diverted, budgets strained, and regional stability is compromised. Without immediate action, the ripple effects may reach even further, testing the resilience of health systems across the Horn of Africa, Sahel, and along vital Red Sea trade corridors.
The need for international intervention is both urgent and obvious. A powerful, coordinated response could make the difference between controlled recovery and irreversible collapse. First and foremost, a ceasefire that ensures safe humanitarian corridors is essential. Without peace, or at least reliable access, aid cannot reach those in need. Humanitarian pauses would allow for the repair of water systems, delivery of vaccines, restoration of cold chains, and evacuation of the critically ill.
Protection of healthcare must be enforced. More than 600 verified attacks on health facilities since 2023 have destroyed the very structures meant to save lives. Healthcare deserves the highest levels of international legal protection, and perpetrators must be held accountable for destroying hospitals and killing health workers.
Every day of inaction means more children dying.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh
Donations to support lifesaving health and nutrition interventions are urgently needed. WHO, UNICEF, MSF, International Rescue Committee, and other front-line responders are operating with huge funding gaps. Without emergency financing, services such as oral cholera vaccination, measles campaigns, mobile clinics, trauma kits, and nutrition support will fail. Fuel for generators and cold chains, oxygen for acute care, food for malnourished children, and medicines for chronic patients must be prioritized immediately.
High-impact campaigns such as mass vaccinations, and water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions can break disease cycles. Mobile outreach services should follow displaced populations and deliver care even in remote areas. More oral cholera and measles vaccines, hygiene kits, and water chlorination are proven, cost-effective tools. For vulnerable border areas, pre-positioned supplies and technical support can contain the spread of diseases beyond Sudan.
Front-line NGOs deserve both support and freedom to operate. They provide surgical services, treat cholera and malnutrition, and keep fragile systems alive in impossible conditions. Unrestricted, flexible funding and eased logistics are lifelines that save lives.
In sum, Sudan’s health emergency is one of the most urgent global crises of our time. The world cannot afford complacency or wait for a “window of opportunity” that may never come. Every day of inaction means more children dying from preventable illnesses, more mothers perishing in childbirth, and more families stripped of their dignity. A concerted, compassionate response anchored in humanitarian principles and fueled by international solidarity still has power to prevent further catastrophe. But time is running out — and with it, the chance to preserve the lives and futures of millions.
- Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh