Hospitals, clinics and ambulances in Sudan are increasingly being drawn into the country’s brutal conflict, with deadly consequences for patients and health workers alike. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that attacks on health care are not only rising, but are becoming more lethal and widespread, stripping communities of life-saving services when they are needed most.

Since fighting erupted in April 2023, the UN health agency has verified 201 attacks on health care facilities, staff and transport across Sudan. These assaults have claimed at least 1,858 lives and injured nearly 500 people. The scale of the crisis has sharply worsened this year alone. In 2025, WHO recorded 65 attacks that led to more than 1,620 deaths — accounting for over 80 per cent of all deaths from attacks on health care in complex humanitarian emergencies worldwide this year.