SUDAN'S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM ON BRINK OF COLLAPSE, MSF WARNS

Sudan's healthcare system faces a severe crisis as international funding cuts have forced the closure of medical facilities across the country, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned. The medical charity stated that dozens of organisations lost funding after the US Agency for International Development (USAID) ceased operations last year, with existing grants to many USAID-funded organisations expiring in June. MSF urged world leaders at the UN General Assembly to take action to protect health services. The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023, has created acute humanitarian need alongside the funding crisis.

According to MSF, approximately 37 per cent of Sudan's health facilities are currently out of service, whilst the UN's response plan for the country remains only 41 per cent funded. Official figures suggest more than 33 million people require medical assistance, with some 19.5 million facing crisis levels of hunger earlier this year. Muhammad Ibrahim, head of MSF in Sudan, stated that as funding for other organisations disappears, pressure shifts to remaining facilities including those run by MSF. Between January and April 2026, MSF recorded a 22.5 per cent jump in admissions at facilities it supports in central Darfur compared to the same period the previous year. Fabrizio Locuratolo, humanitarian affairs manager at an MSF hospital in Um Rakuba, said funding cuts extended beyond healthcare, with food rations shrinking and protection programmes being dismantled.

The funding reduction reflects a global trend: according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), international aid fell globally by 21.3 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024. European governments have also reduced international assistance alongside the US cuts. MSF stated that patients often face dangerous and lengthy journeys to access treatment, arriving in more serious condition than they would have with closer facilities, with hospitals frequently already at capacity. The charity called for sustained, flexible funding from donors to organisations dependent on international support.