MSF Warns Sudan's Healthcare System Nearing Collapse as Aid Cuts Force Mass Clinic Closures

Médecins Sans Frontières said on September 9, 2026 that international aid cuts are forcing clinics across Sudan to close, pushing the country's healthcare system toward collapse and leaving patients to travel longer, more dangerous distances for care. The group said 45 general healthcare centres in Central Darfur stopped receiving support in May 2026 after funding ran out, while the number of organizations supporting Um Rakuba refugee camp fell from roughly 35 in 2021 to fewer than 10; maternity and surgical services have closed in some displacement camps entirely. MSF mission head Muhammad Ibrahim said 'war is driving Sudan's needs; funding cuts are shrinking the response,' calling on donors to 'protect essential health services and provide sustained, flexible funding.' Emergency coordinator Sebastián Traficante added that 'closing a clinic does not remove a single patient — it just sends them to the next facility.' The closures follow the US government's 2025 shutdown of USAID, whose Sudan funding lapsed in June 2026, compounded by a 13.8% drop in EU aid and a 35.8% fall in global humanitarian assistance in 2025; roughly 37% of Sudan's health facilities are now non-functional and the UN's $2.87 billion 2026 response plan is only about 41% funded. MSF-supported facilities in Zalingei and Rokero, Central Darfur, saw admissions rise 22.5% January-April 2026 versus the same period a year earlier, and admitted 191 severely malnourished children under five in August alone, nearly 22% of whom also tested positive for malaria.