OCHA: 200 health facilities out of action in El Fasher, North Darfur

More than 200 health facilities in the North Darfur capital El Fasher are not functioning, and that there is an acute shortage of medical staff, essential medicines and life-saving supplies, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) laments in a statement yesterday.

In North Darfur, the capital El Fasher is witnessing continuous confrontations between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), where heavy, light and medium weapons were used, in addition to drones, by the SAF on Tuesday morning. The RSF continued its heavy artillery shelling on various axes of the city.

The command of the SAF 6th Infantry Division said that on Monday it managed to shoot down seven drones in El Fasher, noting that 40 drones were launched towards the city, in addition to 50 artillery shells.

As reported by Radio Dabanga on Monday, the 6th Infantry Division of the SAF claim to have shot down “more than 100 drones in 10 days”, amid calls for an international regime of control over the trade, trafficking, and proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Sources have told Radio Dabanga that the SAF has made “significant progress” on a number of axes. The SAF claim to control of buildings in the Taqru and El Salam neighbourhood.

Dire health situation

OCHA said in its report that humanitarian partners in Sudan’s North Darfur are reporting a very dire health situation, especially in El Fasher, the state capital, and camps for displaced people in surrounding areas.

In its latest update released Tuesday, the office added that ongoing hostilities have caused waves of displacement, overwhelming an already fragile healthcare system struggling to meet even people’s basic needs.

OCHA’s office said humanitarian partners were trying to provide medical supplies, but their efforts to provide them remained hampered by insecurity and access restrictions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that across conflict-affected areas in Sudan, more than 70 per cent of hospitals and health facilities are no longer functioning, leaving millions without health care.

As of mid-February, the organisation had recorded nearly 150 attacks on health care in Sudan since the war there began, but the real figure could be much higher.

OCHA renewed its call on parties to the conflict to ensure safe, sustainable and timely humanitarian access to people in need of life-saving support, stressing the need to protect civilians and meet the basic needs for their survival.

Radio Dabanga has approached both the SAF and RSF independently for comment. In the past, both belligerents, with the exception of official statements, have been reticent to respond to questions from Radio Dabanga regarding ongoing military operations.

Funding slump

As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, the UN aims to reach nearly 21 million vulnerable people with life-saving aid and protection in 2025, however, sudden funding cuts by top government donors present “a catastrophic blow to humanitarian assistance in Sudan”, with an estimated $4.2 billion needed for humanitarian support, yet only 6.3 per cent of the funding has been received, the UN says.

In its latest Global Humanitarian Overview, the UN says that “this is the highest number of people in any UN-coordinated plan this year” in terms of its 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Sudan.