MSF president warns Sudan healthcare system faces challenges amid global neglect
January 18, 2026 (PORT SUDAN) – The international community’s neglect of Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe and a severe lack of funding will lead to a surge in victims and a total breakdown of health services, the new international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said.
Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, speaking to Sudan Tribune during his first official visit since taking office, said the lack of global attention was exacerbating the suffering of civilians. He revealed plans to meet with United Nations agencies and international organizations to highlight how the war and funding shortages have devastated Sudan’s health infrastructure.
“I will explain to the international community including international organizations, the United Nations and its agencies, the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe and the impact of insufficient funding and lack of international attention, as well as the consequences for civilians and vital facilities,” Abdelmoneim said. He added that he will “urge them to give what is happening the attention it deserves and to make it one of their priorities as well.”
The MSF president criticized the global failure to hold warring parties accountable for violations of international humanitarian law. He pointed to the frequent targeting of health institutions, the killing of medical staff and patients, and the looting of essential medicines and relief supplies. “There is a global failure to hold the warring parties accountable for attacks on health care, attacks on civilians,” he stated.
Since 1979, MSF has provided humanitarian aid across Sudan, particularly in the Darfur states, Khartoum, Gedaref, and the Blue Nile region. Their teams manage emergency hospitals and mobile clinics to treat war injuries, manage disease outbreaks, and address severe malnutrition in areas where the healthcare system has largely collapsed.
Despite these challenges, Abdelmoneim emphasized that MSF maintains its independence and continues to work in all parts of the country, including areas controlled by both the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). “We have our independence of funding, thinking and approach. And we’ve been able to keep Sudan a priority and work in all parts of the country,” Abdelmoneim noted.
The organization has responded to cholera outbreaks and provided support for trauma surgery, maternal health, and malnutrition since the conflict began in April 2023. However, Abdelmoneim highlighted significant obstacles to aid delivery, particularly the bureaucracy involved in obtaining visas and licenses.
“Any delay can cause increasing illness or increasing rates of death or injury,” he warned. “This accumulates delays that effectively obstruct aid from getting to where it needs to be in a timely fashion, and that’s sad for us, and that impacts the Sudanese people.”
The war has compounded a health gap that existed even before the conflict began. MSF, which operated in eight states last year, plans to expand its reach into Kordofan this year to provide services to the most marginalized groups. “We can’t cover all the needs, nor do we try to,” Abdelmoneim explained. “We try to always seek out the most vulnerable or the most neglected or the most violated.”
Abdelmoneim confirmed that as a neutral organization, MSF operates across lines of control. During his visit, which runs from 10 to January 21, he met with the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Prime Minister Kamil Idris. He also held discussions with the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, and plans to visit Darfur in February to meet local authorities.
MSF is an international movement of 26 independent associations coordinated by MSF International in Geneva and six Operational Centres that manage field interventions. At the country level, missions are led by a coordination team in the capital that works with headquarters-based cells to provide logistical and medical support to field projects.
The MSF leader expressed appreciation for the resilience of the Sudanese people and the courage of health workers who perform their duties under harsh conditions. He called on Sudanese authorities to ensure predictable, sustained, and agile administrative procedures to facilitate rapid, large-scale responses for people across the country.
Abdelmoneim concluded with an urgent appeal to the international community not to turn its back on Sudan. He urged increased funding and pressure to halt violations against civilians, while calling for a political solution that ensures accountability and ends impunity.