From crisis to care: delivering lifesaving health services in Sudan's Blue Nile

On World Refugee Day, we are reminded that being forced to flee is not only about leaving home—it is about what happens next.

For families displaced by conflict in Sudan, safety often comes without the basics: food, clean water, shelter, protection, or access to health care.

A mother's impossible choices

Hawa Ishaq Boush never imagined she would one day be forced to beg to keep her children alive.

The mother of ten fled Al Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region after violence tore through her community. What should have been a journey to safety became a grueling escape, ending at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in the mountains of Jabel Marra, South Darfur—one of the hardest-to-reach areas in Sudan, where only three humanitarian agencies are operating.

"There is no medicine at the camp, and there is not enough water, and no money to buy it. My children have not eaten because today I did not go out to look for food. People are really suffering here; there is no food to eat, no clothes or even shoes. Some children die from hunger. We have nothing," Hawa says.

Hawa's story is not an isolated one. It is Sudan's story.

A crisis of scale

Sudan is facing one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, with over 10 million people displaced and health systems stretched to the brink.

Since violence intensified in 2023, millions across Sudan have been forced from their homes, arriving at camps with almost nothing, hoping to find safety but instead facing devastating living conditions and severe shortages of basic necessities.

Across the country, 4.2 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition, including 800,000 experiencing severe wasting, a life-threatening condition that can become irreversible without urgent treatment.

Women and girls face compounding dangers. Millions are at heightened risk of physical, emotional, and sexual violence as conflict and displacement continue to erode protection systems and essential services.

In Sudan's Blue Nile region, conflict and displacement continue to push families further from essential healthcare.

Earlier this year, more than 1,500 newly displaced households arrived in Al-Karama camps in Damazine. Many of them with children under five, pregnant and lactating women, and even unaccompanied minors.

In Blue Nile alone, limited infrastructure, shortages of medical supplies, and ongoing insecurity mean that many communities simply cannot reach care when they need it most.

For these families, access to even basic health and nutrition services is no longer guaranteed.

So instead, we bring healthcare to them

World Vision is responding by bringing care closer to families who cannot reach it.

Through mobile health and nutrition teams in Sudan’s Blue Nile Region, World Vision is delivering essential services in displacement sites and hard-to-reach communities.

These teams provide a minimum package of lifesaving care, including:

• Maternal and child health services,
• Immunization
• Treatment for acute malnutrition.

Already, more than 8,415 people have been reached with critical health and nutrition support with a goal of reaching 12,000 individuals.

But the needs remain immense.

This World Refugee Day, we stand with refugees, internally displaced families, and all people forced to flee conflict and crisis. And we recommit to ensuring that children and families are not left without care when they need it most.

In emergencies like Sudan, health care cannot wait for people to reach it. It must reach them.

You can help

World Vision Canada is responding to this urgent crisis in Sudan, bringing lifesaving health and nutrition services to children and families caught in conflict.

Your support can help expand mobile health services, reach more vulnerable communities, and ensure that no child is left without care—and no mother like Hawa is left without hope.

Learn more and support the Sudan response

📞 Call 1-877-257-3776 to leave a message of hope ✍️ Sign the petition to tell decision-makers to act 💛 Donate to support life-saving assistance

Together, we can act—while it still matters.

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This project in Blue Nile was made possible with support from the Humanitarian Coalition @Humanitarian Coalition | Coalition Humanitaire.

The situation in Sudan is part of a much larger global picture. Our new report, In the Shadow of Hunger, reveals how funding cuts to food assistance are pushing displaced households—and their children—to the brink. Explore the Interactive Report or Read the Full Report.