15 April 2025, Cairo, Egypt – Two years into the conflict, Sudan’s health system is at breaking point. As the rainy season looms the country faces a perfect storm of disease outbreaks, malnutrition and collapsing services at a time when humanitarian access is dangerously restricted and funding for health is running dry.
Today, more than 30 million people in Sudan need humanitarian assistance, including over 20 million in urgent need of health services. But insecurity, shortage of life-saving medicines and medical supplies and repeated attacks on health facilities and personnel have made access to care and aid nearly impossible for millions. Hospitals have shut their doors or are only partially functioning. People are dying from diseases, malnutrition, conflict-related injuries and the daily lack of essential medicines, vaccines and lifesaving services.
“This crisis is tearing Sudan’s health system apart,” said WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy. “Hospitals have run out of supplies; health workers are under threat and disease is spreading in areas we can barely reach. The rainy season will multiply the health risks while further restricting access to those in need. We need urgent access and funding to provide essential care to millions of vulnerable people.”
The consequences are already visible. More than two-thirds of Sudan’s states