Attacks hit Sudan health facilities
W.H.O. and UNICEF warn crisis is worsening
At least 2,042 people have been killed and 785 injured in 214 attacks on health-care facilities in Sudan since fighting began nearly three years ago, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said in a joint statement. The agencies reported 184 deaths and 295 injuries in the first quarter of this year alone and warned the scale and frequency of attacks are worsening the humanitarian crisis.
WHO Representative Shible Sahbani said assaults on hospitals and clinics further restrict access to care when it is most needed and called for protection of patients and health workers. UNICEF Representative Sheldon Yett described attacks on medical facilities as a grave violation of children’s rights, noting they deprive children of critical services and protection at vulnerable moments. The agencies said attacks on health facilities, staff and patients violate international humanitarian law and deepen the emergency by forcing closures, damaging infrastructure and driving medical personnel from their posts.
Repeated targeting and collateral damage have left many facilities damaged or nonfunctional, producing acute shortages of medicines, equipment and trained staff. Humanitarian groups report that even treatable conditions are increasingly fatal as the health system fragments and access to care becomes intermittent or impossible for millions.
The violence stems from fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that began in mid-April 2023, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, according to international organizations. WHO and UNICEF urged all parties to respect medical neutrality, ensure the safety of civilians and aid workers, and allow unimpeded humanitarian access to sustain essential services. They also called for accountability for attacks on health care and for international support to prevent further collapse of Sudan’s health system.
