Sudan

International Medical Corps has worked
in Sudan since 2004. We offer genderbased violence (GBV), healthcare, mental
health and psychosocial support (MHPSS),
nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene(WASH) programs, often integrating themwith existing services in the country toachieve more effective outcomes.

We currently provide these services in 67 health facilities toresidents across eight states of Sudan, including Al Jazeera,Blue Nile, Central Darfur, Khartoum, Sennar, South Darfur, South
Kordofan and West Darfur. The ongoing humanitarian crisis
in Sudan has claimed thousands of lives, uprooted millions
of people, disrupted already fragile healthcare systems andprevented families from returning to their homes. Despite
limited access and chronic instability, in 2023, we provided
humanitarian assistance to more than 1.6 million people.

Once the largest and one of the mostgeographically diverse nations in Africa,
Sudan split into two separate countries in
July 2011, after the people of what is now
South Sudan voted for independence.
Today, Sudan is experiencing significant turmoil and conflict.
The humanitarian situation remains critical, with ongoing
conflict and political instability contributing to widespread
displacement and urgent needs across multiple sectors. The
fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitarygroups has led to a significant number of casualties andhas disrupted the lives of millions. The conflict has also
triggered shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, leading
to skyrocketing prices for essential items. Rape has been
employed as a weapon of war, risking women’s and girls’
lives and compounding fear, stress and loss. Displacement,
loss of income and the limited presence of service providers
further exacerbate the risk of GBV. To alleviate economic
pressure and in misguided attempts to protect girls, somefamilies force girls into marriage or expose them to trafficking.
Humanitarian needs in Sudan have reached record
highs, with more than half of the population—around24.8 million people—requiring humanitarian assistance.
Millions remain in displacement camps, relying almost
entirely on humanitarian aid for essential services, while
funding constraints affect the ongoing humanitarian
response. The crisis is compounded by annual outbreaksof diseases, including dengue fever, cholera and malaria.

HEALTHWith an estimated 17.7 million
people facing heightenedlevels of food insecurity, 4.86
million children and womenare acutely malnourished,and 65% of the population
lacks access to healthcare.
Currently, more than 70%
of health facilities are notfunctioning, mostly due to thelack of staff and the absenceof essential medicinesand equipment.

International Medical Corps currently supports and operates
in 67 health facilities across Sudan, delivering essential healthservices, strengthening health systems and providing resources
to deploy skilled health workers to those facilities. Essential healthservices include treatment and prevention of disease, reproductive
healthcare, health education, immunization, child healthcare andsurveillance, and referrals to emergency- and secondary-level healthservices, including surgery and obstetric care. Reproductive healthservices include prenatal care, clean and safe deliveries attended
by skilled birth attendants, postnatal and newborn care, and familyplanning. Clinical management of rape (CMR) is also offered at thefacilities. We provide integrated management of childhood illnesses,immunizations and nutrition screening for children.
In 2023, we provided 667,193 outpatient consultations to those inneed, including thousands of patients treated for acute respiratory
infections, diarrhea and malaria, which continue to be the leading
causes of disease in our program areas. We also reached womenwith comprehensive reproductive health services. In 2023, thisincluded 17,219 women who received antenatal care (ANC), 8,679
who delivered babies assisted by skilled healthcare personnel and8,393 who received postnatal care. In addition, we immunized 36,293
children, including 24,829 vaccinated against measles. We have also
engaged with local organizations across Sudan and built their capacity
to deliver health education for 85,184 people on critical topics such as
immunizations, infectious diseases, malaria and measles transmission,
infection prevention and control, ANC, birth preparedness and healthy
delivery, postnatal care and family planning.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
Many communities in Sudan experience sub-standard water
quality and insufficient quantity—17.3 million people lackaccess to basic drinking water, and about 24 million lackaccess to proper sanitation facilities. Influxes of refugees
and internally displaced persons (IDPs) frequently strain thehost community and camp water-collection and sanitation
system. By expanding access to clean water, creating
proper waste-disposal systems and providing safe sanitation
facilities, we restore and protect healthy living conditions.
In Sudan, we implement WASH activities as part ofhealth and nutrition interventions. These include:⊲ promotion of—and education about—goodhygiene practices;⊲ creation of waste disposal facilities and safe practices;⊲ chlorination, rehabilitation and maintenance of water points;⊲ construction and rehabilitation of drainage canals andlatrines; and⊲ improvement of WASH and infection prevention and control
in health facilities.
In 2023, we constructed or rehabilitated 12 water points
for IDPs and vulnerable host communities and reached
57,791 people with information about the need forsafe hygiene practices and other WASH activities.

NUTRITION
We provide nutrition services in Sudan to those mostvulnerable to hunger, including children under 5, pregnant
women and nursing mothers. We operate 59 outpatienttherapeutic programs (OTPs), 59 target supplementarytreatment centers (TSFPs) and six stabilization centers
for malnourished children with life-threatening medicalcomplications. In 2023, of the 191,751 people we screened
for malnutrition, 76% were children under 5. Of those,thousands were malnourished. We treated 5,577 people inOTPs and 5,845 in TSFPs, which included 4,496 children
under 5 and 1,349 pregnant or nursing mothers. Workingwith local partners and community volunteers, we also
provide nutrition awareness sessions for mothers on
the importance of breastfeeding, dietary diversification
using local foods, safe food preparation and targeted
nutritional support for women and children. In 2023,
we reached 66,543 people with nutrition education.

HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING
We support Sudan’s Ministry of Health (MoH) efforts topromote the healthcare delivery system. Our activities
include supporting service delivery, information management,
health facility rehabilitation, deploying healthcare workers,
and providing medicines and medical supplies. In addition,
we support the MoH with disease control, diseasesurveillance, and immunization. We also train MoH staff onemergency preparedness.

MENTAL HEALTH AND
PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORTInternational Medical Corps provides MHPSS services
through an integrated approach, ensuring accessibility, nonstigmatization and cultural acceptability. Our MHPSS programaims to improve mental health, enhance resilience and wellbeing, build social support networks and empower affected
populations. Our MHPSS services include psychologicalsupport, mental health case management, psychological firstaid (PFA) and group psychosocial support (PSS), including theWHO’s Self-Help Plus (SH+) intervention. Community-based
PSS activities include community outreach, mental healthawareness and psychoeducation. We also provide training
for key stakeholders, including health providers, MHPSS
staff, community leaders, local partners and staff from otherhumanitarian agencies. Training topics include the WHO’s
mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide (mhGAP-HIG), SH+,PFA, basic concepts of MHPSS, and detection and safe referrals
of mental health cases. International Medical Corps also actively
contributes to the establishment and strengthening of MHPSS
coordination mechanisms, including the Sudan National and
Sub-Regional MHPSS Technical Working Groups.

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
To help meet increasing needs related to escalating violence,
International Medical Corps launched its first GBV prevention
and response program in Sudan in 2024. We partner with two
women-led women’s rights organizations to make support
services available for survivors of GBV and strengthen
support and protection for women and girls at risk of violence.
International Medical Corps recognizes the importance ofindividualized, survivor-centered care, including psychosocial
support and safe referral to health services. The GBV teamworks closely with the Health team, ensuring that survivors
can access CMR and intimate partner violence (IPV) services.
We also support local efforts to combat GBV and promotebroader support for survivors through community engagement.
International Medical Corps also contributes to the GBV

www.InternationalMedicalCorps.org
A pre-eminent first responder since 1984, International
Medical Corps delivers emergency medical and related
services to those affected by conflict, disaster anddisease, no matter where they are, no matter what theconditions. We also train people in their communities,
providing them with the skills they need to recover,chart their own path to self-reliance and become
effective first responders themselves.
July 2024

sub-cluster working group to ensure that interventions areenhanced through inter-agency collaboration and cooperation.

CAPACITY BUILDING
Overall, the health system’s limited capacity and response
mechanisms have severely weakened the ability to provide
adequate healthcare. Strengthening the capacity of healthstaff, largely through training, helps communities movetoward sustainability and self-reliance. Since arriving in Sudan
in 2004, we have trained thousands of local and national
medical personnel, including traditional birth attendants andcommunity leaders. In 2023, we trained 1,128 people in several
areas, including:⊲ maternal and newborn healthcare;⊲ emergency obstetric and newborn care;⊲ rationed use of essential drugs;⊲ prevention and treatment of common communicable andnoncommunicable diseases;⊲ reproductive-health and early-childhood care;⊲ support for CMR and IPV survivors;⊲ identification and management of commonchildhood illnesses;⊲ nutritional screening, treatment and preventionof malnutrition;⊲ infant and young-child feeding practices;⊲ outbreak preparedness and response-management care;⊲ infection prevention and control;⊲ community-based feedback and response mechanisms; and⊲ PFA and mental health case management, including
safe referrals.
The expertise of these providers is crucial to integrating
healthcare services into the community. Their skills also provide
the continuity of care needed to stabilize fragile healthcare
systems and foster long-term recovery. The training wasconducted in collaboration with the MoH.

COUNTRYCONTACT:HEADQUARTERS
CONTACT:

Ronald-Paul Veilleux, Country Directorrveileux@InternationalMedicalCorps.org
Megan Greenhalgh, Director of International Programs
mgreenhalgh@InternationalMedicalCorps.org

International Medical Corps is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, and has
offices in Washington, DC; London, UK; and Split, Croatia.
For contact information, visit InternationalMedicalCorps.org/contact.