Health in Sudan

The Federal Ministry of Health and State Ministries of Health lead the formal system, with implementation at state and locality level. Hospitals, rural hospitals, family health units, family health centers and other health service delivery units provide care, while WHO, UNICEF, NGOs, Health Cluster partners, community development committees, community health workers and midwives support delivery. Primary health care, or PHC, is the usual first contact for outpatient treatment, immunization, antenatal and postnatal care, childbirth support, child health, malaria, diarrhoea, respiratory infections and nutrition services. A health service delivery unit may operate through a fixed facility, mobile clinic, outreach visit, campaign or community worker. As of July 1, 2025, HeRAMS had assessed 4,363 units: 2,564 were at least partially operational and 1,799 were not operational. Reported functionality was 48% fully functional, 12% partially functional and 37% non-functional; reported access was 55% fully accessible, 4% partially accessible and 1% inaccessible, with remaining records not classified in those categories. Conditions differ substantially between states and localities. Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum face particularly severe access pressures, while partner presence and relative stability improve access in parts of eastern and central Sudan without creating a uniform national pathway. Prevention includes health education, nutrition support, growth monitoring, infant and young child feeding counselling, disease surveillance and immunization. Routine vaccination coverage was badly disrupted: DTP1 coverage was 48% in 2024 compared with 94% in 2022, and immunity gaps increase measles and diphtheria risk. Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination entered routine immunization on March 8, 2026, with a target of about 1.9 million newborns per year within 24 hours of birth. Availability of antenatal care remains limited; among assessed units, 22% had the service available, 5% partially available, 5% unavailable, 26% did not regularly offer it and 41% were non-operational. Urgent care depends on local capacity. Services may include danger-sign recognition, triage, basic emergency care, prehospital support, monitored referral, trauma surgery, blood banks, laboratory testing, radiology, dialysis, intensive care and medical evacuation. Sudan has no verified nationwide ambulance or transport guarantee, so referral depends on security, distance, staff, equipment, transport and whether the receiving facility can accept the patient. Outbreak services include surveillance, malaria control, tuberculosis treatment, isolation and cholera care. In 2025, UNICEF reported 420 oral rehydration points, 72 cholera treatment centers or units and 44,578 cholera cases treated. Maternal and child services can include basic or comprehensive emergency obstetric care, skilled childbirth, postpartum care, neonatal special care, integrated management of childhood illness and acute-malnutrition treatment. UNICEF reported 55 neonatal special care units in 14 states in 2025. Hypertension detection, treatment and follow-up are also available in some facilities, but among assessed units only 25% had the service available, 6% partially available, 3% unavailable, 24% did not regularly offer it and 41% were non-operational. Mental-health and psychosocial support services remain highly uneven and are largely partner- or humanitarian-supported. After treatment, follow-up may involve referral handover, home visits, medicine monitoring, postnatal checks or rehabilitation where a suitable facility or partner is available. Displacement often interrupts medicines, documents and vaccination records. Sudan has no verified nationwide unified paper or digital patient-record system, although digital pilot projects support remote consultations, medicine subscriptions, outbreak response and worker training in more than 400 facilities. No universal national pre-approval requirement for primary care has been verified. Practical access depends on safety, travel, facility status, staff, supplies, transport and sometimes programme eligibility. Partner-supported services may be free of charge, but no uniform national fee or entitlement system has been verified. Seek urgent help quickly for severe bleeding, breathing difficulty, unconsciousness, serious injury, danger signs in pregnancy or childbirth, severe dehydration, suspected cholera or other rapidly worsening illness. Keep medicine lists, prescriptions, vaccination records and referral details whenever possible, and ask the treating facility or community health worker where follow-up is available if care is interrupted.