Khartoum Hospitals Overflow as Fevers Surge Amid Health Crisis

Patients treated in the MSF supported Al Nau hospital in Omdurman, Khartoum state. (file photo)

September 2, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Hospitals in Sudan’s Khartoum state are severely overcrowded, with patients lining up for intravenous drips as fevers like malaria and dengue surge, residents and officials said on Tuesday.

The health ministry on Tuesday acknowledged it was struggling to combat the widespread proliferation of disease vectors.

Patients told Sudan Tribune that a spike in infections and an acute shortage of medical staff meant they had to wait for hours to receive treatment in overflowing hospitals and clinics.

One patient from southern Omdurman described a near-total lack of dengue fever treatment, adding that he had been searching for care for days. He said the health authorities were unable to cope with the outbreak.

A health ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sudan Tribune that about 2.5 million malaria cases had been recently registered in Khartoum.

The official said the ministry had begun spraying campaigns to contain the fevers.

The crisis was discussed at a meeting of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) attended by Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim and the World Health Organization’s Sudan representative, Shibil Sahbani.

“The spread of dengue fever vectors requires more funding and greater effort,” Ibrahim said in a statement released after the meeting.

The EOC called for a unified supply system, efficient use of resources, and better medical waste disposal, noting the need for incinerators.