A spiral of violence against healthcare and the humanitarian space

Human Rights Research Center
3 hours ago
5 min read

April 10, 2026

HRRC condemns the deliberate destruction of Sudan's healthcare infrastructure. With over 200 verified attacks on healthcare facilities and 2,000+ deaths since 2023, warring parties are systematically dismantling the final lifelines of a starving population while the world looks away. We call on the international community to fully fund Sudan's humanitarian response, enforce accountability for violations of International Humanitarian Law, and break the silence that makes this catastrophe invisible.

A section of Al Jabalayn Teaching Hospital in Sudan's White Nile State, was attacked, resulting in the death of ten health workers, one of them the medical director on 2 April 2026. [Image credit: World Health Organization]

Sudan is currently enduring a milestone of international shame, marked by 1,000 days of conflict that have triggered massive displacement and near-universal famine. However, this reality remains largely a "war without images," unfolding far from the reach of global media. Analysts observe a "hierarchy of visibility" in global news ecosystems, where conflicts between sovereign states like the US-Israel-Iran hostilities receive significantly more coverage than internal civil wars.

While smartphone technology typically provides immediate testimony of missile strikes in the Middle East, a draconian security crackdown and widespread censorship, particularly by regional actors like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are accused of fueling the Sudan conflict, have successfully stifled the narrative and potential spotlight the conflict deserves. Consequently, Sudanese victims are often reduced to statistics while audiences in high-income countries remain focused on geographically and culturally "nearer" conflicts. This lack of media attention has direct consequences: Sudan’s 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan remains critically underfunded at just 16 percent, leaving millions without food or medical care.

In Sudan, the core of this crisis is how the targets for many attacks are healthcare and aid infrastructure, thus systemically delegitimizing the access to humanitarian aid in the area. Warring parties have targeted civilian objects protected under International Humanitarian Law, including water and sanitation infrastructure, schools, and healthcare facilities. Beyond physical strikes, aid delivery is paralyzed by administrative bureaucracy and the intentional disruption of supply routes. Families fleeing fighting in regions like Kordofan often arrive at displacement sites malnourished and exhausted, only to find that aid corridors have been cut and essential services, such as children's immunization campaigns, are under active bombardment.

Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) has verified more than 200 attacks on healthcare targets, resulting in over 2,000 deaths. These are not accidental; they reflect a recurring pattern of targeting the very infrastructure civilians rely on for survival and safety. Just this year, on March 11, 2026, four suicide drones targeted a school and a health clinic in Shukeiri village, killing at least 17 people; and continuing on the pattern on April 1, 2026, a strategic drone strike destroyed a large medicine warehouse in Kosti, killing at least three people, causing widespread panic and a critical shortage of pharmaceutical supplies.

The last of these violent episodes was when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the Al Jabalain Teaching Hospital on April 2, 2026. This attack consisted of two targeted strikes: one hitting the operating theatre and the other hitting the maternity ward. At least 10 people were killed, including seven medical workers, one of whom was the hospital's medical director. The strike was even more appalling as it occurred during a children's immunization campaign and while a Cesarean section was underway. This assault on the only referral hospital in western Sudan has severely disrupted health services for over 230,000 displaced people, reinforcing a defining feature of the conflict: a deliberate effort to make the country uninhabitable for its own citizens.

Glossary

Active bombardment – a strong, sustained, and continuous attack, typically involving artillery fire, aerial bombing, or the use of heavy missiles against a city, fort, or military target.
Al Jabalain Teaching Hospital – A specific hospital targeted in the April 2, 2026 attack
Aid corridors – Designated routes for delivering humanitarian supplies
Bureaucracy – excessively complicated administrative procedure.
Catastrophe – an event causing great and usually sudden damage or suffering; a disaster.
Cesarean section (C-section) – A surgical procedure to deliver a baby through incisions in the abdomen and uterus
Civic repression – The suppression of civil society and citizen rights
Civilian objects – Non-military targets protected under international law, including schools, hospitals, and infrastructure
Criminalization – the action of turning an activity into a criminal offence by making it illegal.
Displacement – The forced movement of people from their homes due to conflict
Displacement sites – Locations where people fleeing conflict temporarily settle
Draconian – (of laws or their application) excessively harsh and severe.
Famine – An extreme scarcity of food leading to widespread hunger and death
Geopolitical – Relating to politics influenced by geographical factors
Humanitarianism – The practice of saving lives and alleviating suffering, especially during conflict or disaster
Immunization campaigns – Organized efforts to vaccinate populations against disease
International Humanitarian Law – A set of rules that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict, protecting civilians and those no longer participating in hostilities
Kordofan – A region in Sudan affected by the conflict
Kosti – A city in Sudan where a medicine warehouse was attacked
Malnourished – Suffering from inadequate nutrition
Maternity ward – A section of a hospital dedicated to childbirth and care for mothers and newborns
Milestone – a significant stage or event in the development of something.
MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders) – An international humanitarian medical NGO
NRC (Norwegian Refugee Council) – A humanitarian NGO focused on displaced people
OHCHR – The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Operating theatre – A room in a hospital used for surgical operations
Paralyzed – stopped (a system, place, or organization) from operating by causing disruption.
Paramilitary – An armed force or organized group that operates similarly to a military but is not part of a country's official armed forces
Referral hospital – A hospital that receives patients from smaller health centers for specialized care
RSF (Rapid Support Forces) – A paramilitary group involved in the Sudan conflict
Sanitation infrastructure – Systems for clean water, sewage disposal, and hygiene
Sovereign State – a state with a defined territory that administers its own government and is not subject to or dependent on another power.
Suicide drones – Unmanned aerial vehicles designed to crash into targets, causing destruction
UN OCHA – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
UNICEF – The United Nations Children's Fund, an agency focused on children's rights and emergency aid
White Nile State – A state in Sudan where attacks have occurred
WHO (World Health Organization) – The United Nations agency responsible for international public health

References

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A spiral of violence against healthcare and the humanitarian space

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