Dozens of health facilities in Sudan are being forced to close this year due to global aid cuts, according to aid groups, further deteriorating a dire humanitarian situation in a country embroiled in over three years of conflict. Aid groups reported Tuesday that an additional 36 health facilities, which serve more than 400,000 people, are shutting down.
The Sudanese healthcare system, which previously comprised approximately 6,500 primary healthcare facilities and 300 public hospitals, has been severely impacted since the onset of the war. By September 2024, the World Health Organization indicated that between 70% and 80% of facilities in the most affected regions were either non-operational or functioning minimally.
Sudan descended into conflict in April 2023 following an escalation of tensions between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The war has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths, displaced approximately 13 million individuals, and pushed parts of the nation toward famine. Aid organizations are withdrawing as clinics face shortages of essential medicines and funding, compelling patients to undertake costly and perilous journeys to seek medical attention, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
"These cuts are stripping away what little capacity remains, closing facilities, sending health workers home, and cutting off supply lines for medicines and nutrition treatment. The system is already stretched past its limit," said Mesfin Teklu Tessema, senior technical health director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Mohammed Mahdi, IRC director for East Sudan, informed The Associated Press that the funding cuts are leading to the closure of 36 IRC-supported facilities and sites, thereby denying access to essential services for an estimated 473,700 people. He added that a limited number of facilities may continue operations for a short period with alternative funding, but this support is anticipated to last only through the end of September across Sudan.
Healthcare providers have been unable to secure necessary alternative funding after grants to many organizations in Sudan concluded in June, following the announcement of U.S. aid cuts last year, MSF noted. Several major European donors have also reduced their aid allocations.
In the Um Rakuba camp in Gedaref State, eastern Sudan, which hosts around 17,000 displaced individuals, the number of operating aid organizations has decreased significantly. MSF reported that fewer than 10 organizations are currently active in and around the camp, a stark reduction from approximately 35 in 2021. Fabrizio Locuratolo, MSF humanitarian affairs manager, stated that the MSF-supported hospital in the camp "is now the only lifeline left" for both refugees and residents.
MSF emergency health manager Ali Almohammed warned of ongoing serious disease outbreaks in various parts of Sudan, noting that measles has reached "major outbreak level" in Darfur, with about 75% of affected patients being unvaccinated. Cholera and malaria outbreaks are also being reported.
Efforts to end the war, including peace talks, have been undertaken. Most recently, the United States urged the United Nations to consider imposing sanctions on the warring parties as a means to pressure them toward negotiating an end to the conflict.