Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued an urgent warning that Sudan’s healthcare infrastructure is on the verge of collapse due to a severe decline in international aid funding. The medical charity reported on Tuesday that the ongoing war has intensified violence and displacement in certain regions, forcing increasing numbers of patients to rely on a shrinking network of functioning facilities.
According to MSF, approximately 37 percent of health facilities across Sudan are currently out of service. The organization stated that the United Nations’ response plan for the country is only 41 percent funded, leaving an estimated 19.5 million people facing crisis-level hunger. MSF urged governments at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly to safeguard essential health funding and provide temporary financing to prevent facilities from closing.
Mohammad Ibrahim, the head of MSF in Sudan, emphasized that the organization is being overwhelmed as financial support for other aid efforts disappears. “Donors must protect essential health services and provide sustained, flexible funding to organisations that depend on it,” he stated in the report.
Fabrizio Locuratolo, humanitarian affairs manager at an MSF hospital in Um Rakuba, noted that the impact of the cuts extends beyond medical care. “Food rations are shrinking and protection programmes are being dismantled, pulling away the last safety nets and leaving refugees completely exposed,” he said.
The charity attributed the closures partly to the shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), whose grants for Sudan expired in June, as well as a significant year-over-year reduction in aid from European institutions. MSF highlighted that the world is witnessing historic cuts to international aid, with global humanitarian assistance dropping by 35.8 percent compared to last year.
The conflict between Sudan’s national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has killed at least 59,000 people and displaced approximately 14 million.
This isn’t just about medicine; it is about basic survival. Food rations shrinking leaves refugees completely exposed.
The USAID grant expiration is a major factor here. Governments must act at the UN now to prevent total collapse.
A 35 percent global drop in aid sounds unbelievable. Is no one else paying attention to what is happening in Sudan?
37 percent of facilities closed is terrifying. We need immediate, flexible funding before it is too late.