UN experts have once again brought attention to the persistent and alarming attacks on Sudan’s healthcare infrastructure, urging the international community to adopt measures that could protect the country’s beleaguered health system. They emphasize that the situation has not improved, despite the adoption of UN resolution 2286 in 2016, which explicitly condemns violence against medical facilities, personnel, and transport. The continued violence against Sudan’s healthcare sector, however, underscores a broader failure to enforce accountability and adhere to international legal frameworks.
According to the World Health Organization, since the current conflict intensified in April 2025, there have been 217 documented assaults on healthcare infrastructure and workers. The attack on Al Deain Teaching Hospital on March 20, which resulted in 64 casualties, including 13 children, exemplifies the severe impacts these assaults have on civilian life. Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, remarks that these attacks severely undermine the right to health and may qualify as international crimes. Further details on the ongoing crisis can be accessed here.
The three-year war has precipitated what the United Nations terms “the world’s worst humanitarian and displacement crisis,” with nearly 34 million people urgently needing humanitarian support. This includes 14 million people who have been displaced and 19 million facing acute food insecurity. The UN has voiced concerns that ongoing geopolitical tensions, such as the conflict in Iran, could exacerbate Sudan’s food scarcity, as a significant portion of its fertilizer imports come from the Gulf region.
The UN experts have warned that Sudan’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, pressing for more than just rhetorical condemnation from the international community. They underscore that without accountability, efforts to protect healthcare facilities are ineffective. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Denise Brown, previously commented on the disappointing inaction by international actors, labeling the situation as “an abandoned crisis.”
As Sudan’s healthcare system struggles against mounting assaults, there is a pressing need for global consensus and action to uphold international resolutions and ensure that people receive the medical care they desperately need amid one of the most challenging humanitarian landscapes.