More than three dozen health clinics across Sudan are shutting down this year due to significant reductions in international aid, further straining medical access in a country ravaged by ongoing conflict, humanitarian groups have reported. The closures affect approximately 473,700 people who rely on these facilities for essential health services.

Sudan’s health infrastructure, once comprising about 6,500 primary care centers and 300 public hospitals, has been severely weakened since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths and displaced around 13 million people, while pushing several regions into famine conditions. By September 2024, the World Health Organization estimated that 70 to 80 percent of health facilities in the hardest-hit areas were either closed or barely operational.

The current wave of closures stems largely from cuts in global funding. According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which supports many of the affected clinics, financial reductions have compelled the shutdown of 36 facilities across Sudan. IRC’s East Sudan director, Mohammed Mahdi, noted that only a few clinics remain open temporarily through alternative funding sources, but this support is expected to expire by the end of September.

Aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have emphasized the critical impact of these funding shortfalls. MSF highlighted that clinics are increasingly unable to obtain necessary medicines and supplies, forcing vulnerable patients to undertake costly and hazardous journeys to access care. The withdrawal of multiple aid groups has further deteriorated the situation, particularly in displacement camps.

One such example is the Um Rakuba camp in Gedaref state, which houses about 17,000 displaced individuals. The number of aid organizations operating there has sharply declined from approximately 35 in 2021 to fewer than 10, with the MSF-supported hospital now serving as the sole medical provider for the camp’s residents. Fabrizio Locuratolo, MSF’s humanitarian affairs manager, described the hospital as the “only lifeline left” for refugees and locals alike.

The deteriorating health conditions are compounded by outbreaks of serious diseases across the country. MSF’s emergency health manager, Ali Almohammed, reported a major measles outbreak in Darfur, where roughly 75 percent of infected patients had not been vaccinated. Sudan is also grappling with surges in cholera and malaria cases, heightening the urgency for sustained medical support.

Aid groups have attributed the recent funding gaps to the expiration of grants following U.S. aid cuts announced last year, alongside reductions by some European donors. Efforts to secure alternative financing have, so far, been insufficient to prevent the shrinking of Sudan’s already overstretched healthcare system.