By: Anna Douglas Piper

Sudan is experiencing a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis. The International Rescue Committee cites the escalating fighting, an economic crisis, and a near collapse of health care services, among other causes. 

The healthcare crisis presents the most urgent problem, and the United States must do more to help.

In April of 2023, conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into civil war. Though fighting has been concentrated in the capital city of Khartoum, reports of ethnic cleansing exist in other regions. More than 61,000 people have died. 26,000 deaths were a direct result of the violence, while the majority resulted from largely preventable diseases and starvation. 

The Sudanese conflict is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. According to the World Health Organization, 11 million are in urgent need of life-saving health care. 

The healthcare crisis precedes the conflict, driven by long-term political and economic instability. The problem is compounded by lack of access to food, a key driver of disease. Millions are experiencing malnutrition, and famine was officially declared in the Darfur region in August of 2024. Exacerbated by the fighting, 25.6 million, over half of the population, are in desperate need of aid.

Over 70% of health facilities are currently non-functional. Sudan faces a complete lack of funding, supplies, and staff. Hospitals suffer from targeted attacks as well as repeated looting and occupation from both sides of the conflict.

"The situation in health clinics is beyond words," said Amelie Chbat, who oversees the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan. "The injured lack medicines, food, and water, and the elderly, women, and children are without essential treatments like dialysis or diabetes medications. And the situation is deteriorating."

Sudan’s health care system has virtually collapsed. 

The consequences are immeasurable. There is a severe strain on resources, including water, sanitation and hygiene services. Measles has killed more than 1,000 children, while a severe cholera outbreak has led to 8,000 cases and 299 deaths. Malnutrition is rampant, immunization levels are low, and care is nonexistent. Outbreaks will continue to have devastating effects, particularly for the youth. 

Humanitarian organizations have attempted to help, including the IRC, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), The Red Cross, and more. However, access to the Sudanese has been difficult. Violence and movement restrictions on organizations have constrained aid delivery, especially in the south–where need is highest. The Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) rated aid constraints a 5 out of 5 (extreme). 

“The cost of inaction is already unbearable,” said Dr. Tammam Aloudat, president of the MSF Netherlands board. “It can be measured in the tens of thousands of lives lost and the millions of lives that are on the line as we speak.”

The U.S. has contributed financial assistance, food, and medical services to Sudan and neighboring countries. The most recent $424 million package was announced in September 2024, bringing US aid since April 2023 to over $2 billion. However, as diplomacy fails to reduce the conflict, the capacity to target rising needs will continue to fall.

The United States must do more. 

Though U.S. officials claim to be “steadfast in [their] support for the people of Sudan,” they must do more than call on the RSP and SAF to cease hostilities and allow in aid. Existing support is not enough–America must use its global influence to end the crisis. 

International pressure must be increased on the Sudanese forces, and the U.S. can play a major role. Unobstructed aid flow into the country is vital, and solutions are necessary to allow delivery of medical support. The United States can increase support for humanitarian organizations to bolster their presence and create a reliable supply movement into Sudan.

“Sudan and its suffering people have slipped down the world's list of priorities—forgotten by the media, neglected by political will, and overlooked by the humanitarian donor institutions that should be putting this catastrophe front and center,” says Dr. Mohamed Bashir, Sudanese medical staff member.

“Amid all this, I plead with the world: Do not let Sudan slip from your attention. At times, it feels as though no one cares, as if Sudan has been deliberately deprioritized by the global decision makers, pushed aside for other crises.”

“How much longer can we tolerate this inaction?”