As the world’s attention flickers from one conflict to another, Sudan’s unfolding humanitarian catastrophe remains largely in the shadows. Yet, its scale is staggering. With over 30.4 million people in need of humanitarian aid and 14.6 million displaced, Sudan’s civil war has pushed an entire nation to the brink. Nowhere is this collapse more evident — and more deadly — than in the country’s healthcare system. On Friday, 9 May at 5pm, the Sydney Peace Foundation will host a panel at the Susan Wakil Health Building. The event is supported by the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health to confront the medical emergency ravaging Sudan. Sudan’s Medical Crisis: A Humanitarian Catastrophe, will bring together leading voices to dissect the crisis and explore possible solutions. Among the speakers are Dr Majdi Sabahelzain Dafallah, a Sudanese physician and health policy advocate; Dr Eyal Mayroz, a conflict and peacebuilding scholar at USyd; Dr Ahlam Ibrahim, a Sudanese public health expert; and Eric Reeves, an American researcher who has spent over two decades analysing Sudanese conflict and policy. Their discussion promises to be both sobering and urgently necessary.
Hospitals Under Siege
Since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the country’s health infrastructure has been relentlessly targeted. The consequences are dire. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), more than 70 per cent of hospitals in conflict zones are no longer operational. Facilities that have remained open are severely understaffed and undersupplied. Healthcare workers, fearing for their lives, have fled or been displaced. International aid has been throttled by dangerous on-the-ground conditions. This systematic destruction has left millions without access to even the most basic medical care. Pregnant women are giving birth in unsanitary shelters. Patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes or hypertension are going untreated. Children — the most vulnerable in any conflict — are dying from malnutrition, widespread diseases, and preventable infections.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Sudan’s crisis is how avoidable many of the deaths are. Cholera, a waterborne disease typically treatable with oral rehydration and antibiotics, is killing Sudanese civilians at three times the global fatality rate, according to recent data from the World Health Organisation. In war-torn regions like Darfur and Khartoum, humanitarian agencies are struggling to reach those in need due to persistent violence and blocked supply routes. Meanwhile, vaccination campaigns have all but ceased, increasing the risk of outbreaks of measles, polio, and tetanus — diseases that the global community has worked for decades to control.
Global Apathy and the Call to Action
Despite the scale of suffering, media coverage and international political response have been muted. The silence around Sudan is not a reflection of the crisis’ importance, but of political inconvenience and media fatigue. What’s happening is nothing short of a health genocide in slow motion as cited by TRT Afrika. The Sydney Peace Foundation Panel seeks to counteract that silence, both by informing the public and pressuring policymakers.
What Can Be Done?
The panel discussion will not only unpack the gravity of the crisis but also explore what can be done to help. Immediate calls include:
- Safe humanitarian corridors to deliver aid and medical supplies.
- International pressure on both warring parties to respect health facilities under international law.
- Diaspora-led advocacy, as many Sudanese health professionals abroad are stepping up to coordinate relief and awareness.
- Rebuilding and supporting local health infrastructure, rather than depending solely on international intervention.
But to do any of that, the world must first look, and care.
As global conflicts continue to test the limits of humanitarian response, Sudan stands as a tragic reminder of what happens when the world looks away. The panel at the University of Sydney is more than an academic event. It is a plea to bear witness, and to act, before more lives are lost to a crisis that should never have been allowed to unfold in silence.
Join the event on Friday, 9 May at Lecture Theatre 207 from 5-6:30pm at the Susan Wakil Health Building, University of Sydney. This is a crisis that demands both attention and action. Register now at: https://events.humanitix.com/supporting-peace-and-humanitarian-aid-efforts-in-sudan
