Sudan’s health system in particular faces a grim reality. Over two-thirds of hospitals are non operational, leaving the remaining facilities a fragile lifeline for people in need of urgent healthcare. However, these hospitals too were grappling with shortages in staff, medical supplies and funds to cover essential operational costs. 

The European Union, through the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF), has been supporting the World Health Organisation (WHO) to sustain hospitals throughout the conflict. A funding of 20,500,000 Euros was directed towards infection control, disease surveillance, providing crucial medical supplies and covering essential operational costs. 

Strengthening Preparedness and Response During Crisis 

Under the project “Strengthening preparedness and response of the health system addressing the current crisis”, immediate healthcare needs have been addressed. 

One key intervention has been the installation of ten medical waste incinerators in four major states across Sudan (Port Sudan, River Nile, Kassala and Northern State). In Atbara, a city in the North of Sudan that has welcomed hundreds of thousands of displaced people, the medical waste burden was at crisis level. Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Medical Director of Atbara Teaching Hospital paints a stark picture:

“The city wasn’t prepared to deal with this number of people. The Accidents & Emergencies department at the hospital received 15,000 patients a month before the conflict erupted. Today, this number has increased by 400% to 60,000 patients.”  

Established in 1906, Atbara teaching hospital was set up to serve the community that lived in the city and provide clinical setting for the training of students at the Atbara University medical school. As the city continued to grow so did the hospital. Now since the war, the hospital has found itself on the frontlines of a national health crisis, providing treatment for patients arriving from across the country. This generated a medical waste crisis of immense scale for the hospital.  

For Atbara teaching hospital, this was the first medical waste incinerator to be installed, a crucial infrastructure that was missing: "The hospital didn’t have a system for dealing with hazardous medical waste in the past. The conflict exacerbated the situation.” Explains Dr. Saad. 

“The incinerator has been a cornerstone of the medical waste treatment system. It improves the quality of care we can provide as it helps us to protect patients from catching other infections in the hospital. It also increases the job satisfaction of both staff and visitors” He adds.  

The arrival of people from Khartoum has also brought some unanticipated advantages, as noted by Fatma Abbas, a teacher and long-time resident in Atbara: “Excellent doctors from different specialities have come to work in Atbara now. We also received excellent teachers”, she explains.  

Expanding Capacity in Port Sudan 

Along the Red Sea in Eastern Sudan, Port Sudan Teaching Hospital was also intensely affected by the displacement crisis, serving as both a transit point and refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Here, an expanded Accidents and Emergencies unit, a medical waste incinerator as well as accommodation for displaced doctors were constructed. 

The focus on prevention, preparedness and response when strengthening existing health facilities helps to ensure that while immediate humanitarian needs are being addressed, existing facilities and infrastructure are strengthened to continue serving both the host and displaced communities in the long run. This nexus approach, which brings together humanitarian, development and peace assistance, helps in preventing crises from escalating and leading to further conflict within communities. 

The European Union remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting healthcare facilities providing essential medical care for the Sudanese people throughout this conflict.