Sudan Conflict Hits 1,000-Day Mark as Health System Collapses and Humanitarian Needs Reach Record Highs

Nearly three years of sustained fighting, severe access restrictions, mass displacement, and dwindling international funding have pushed Sudan’s health system to the brink.

As Sudan’s conflict reaches its 1,000th day, the country is now facing what the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with health services collapsing, hunger intensifying, and civilians paying an ever-growing price for continued violence.

More than 20 million people require urgent health assistance, while 21 million are facing acute food insecurity. Overall, an estimated 33.7 million people — nearly three-quarters of Sudan’s population — will need humanitarian aid in 2026.

Nearly three years of sustained fighting, severe access restrictions, mass displacement, and dwindling international funding have pushed Sudan’s health system to the brink. Despite ongoing efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to restore services, 37 percent of health facilities remain non-functional, leaving millions without access to essential and lifesaving care.

“One thousand days of conflict in Sudan have driven the health system to the edge of collapse,” said Dr Shible Sahbani, WHO Representative in Sudan. “Under the combined strain of disease, hunger, and the breakdown of basic services, people are facing a devastating situation.”

Health care under attack

Since the conflict began in April 2023, WHO has verified 201 attacks on health care, resulting in 1,858 deaths and 490 injuries. Health facilities, ambulances, patients, and medical workers have all been targeted — violations of international humanitarian law that are crippling the delivery of lifesaving services.

“These attacks undermine access to care and place health workers, patients, and caregivers at grave risk,” WHO said.

Unprecedented displacement, escalating disease outbreaks

Sudan is now the largest displacement crisis in the world, with an estimated 13.6 million people forced from their homes. Overcrowded displacement sites, unsafe living conditions, and disrupted water, sanitation, and immunization services have created fertile ground for disease outbreaks.

WHO is currently supporting responses to outbreaks of:

• Cholera (reported in all 18 states)

• Dengue (14 states)

• Malaria (16 states)

• Measles across multiple regions

Access to preventive and curative care — including treatment for chronic illnesses and severe malnutrition — remains dangerously limited, particularly in conflict-affected regions such as Darfur and Kordofan, where insecurity has rendered entire areas inaccessible.

WHO response: lifesaving aid under extreme constraints

Despite extraordinary challenges, WHO continues to deliver lifesaving assistance and support health system recovery across Sudan.

Since April 2023, WHO has:

• Delivered 3,378 metric tons of medicines and medical supplies worth approximately US$40 million

• Supplied treatments for cholera, malaria, dengue, malnutrition, and emergency surgery

• Supported 48 health partners delivering frontline care

• Helped vaccinate 24 million people against cholera

• Supported the introduction and scale-up of malaria vaccines

• Enabled more than 3.3 million people to access care through WHO-supported hospitals, clinics, and mobile health units

• Supported treatment for over 112,400 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications

• Strengthened national and state laboratories to detect and respond rapidly to disease outbreaks

“Despite the challenges, we know we are saving lives and laying the groundwork for recovery,” Dr Sahbani said.

Call for access, funding, and peace

As needs continue to rise and access remains severely constrained, WHO warned that the crisis will worsen without urgent action.

“To prevent this crisis from spiraling further out of control, WHO and humanitarian partners need safe, sustained, and unimpeded access to all areas of Sudan, along with significantly increased financial resources,” Dr Sahbani said.

Ultimately, WHO reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire and a political path to peace, stressing that no humanitarian response can substitute for an end to the fighting.

“Peace is the most powerful medicine Sudan needs,” the agency said.