IRC Closures Cut Services for 473,700 People in Sudan
At least 473,700 people in Sudan lost health care, nutrition, clean water and protection services after funding for IRC’s Sudan response ended.
The International Rescue Committee has ended services reaching at least 473,700 people across Sudan after U.S. funding ended in July and bridge funding ran out. The closures include 36 health facilities, 29 nutrition centers, eight Women and Girls Safe Spaces and six child-focused safe spaces. The programs had provided health care, nutrition treatment, clean water, sanitation and protection services in Blue Nile, Al Jazirah, River Nile, White Nile, Khartoum, West Darfur and North Darfur states. Sudan has 33.7 million people in need of humanitarian aid and more than 9 million people displaced inside the country.
Darfur Care Closures
Health and nutrition closures will be most acute in Darfur, where famine conditions have been confirmed in parts of the region. Fourteen facilities and mobile clinics currently provide care to an average of 16,900 patients and 6,381 young children each month.
Mohammed Mahdi, IRC Director for East Sudan, said:
“We have spent over 3 years watching what happens when the world looks away from Sudan. Right now, in the middle of one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises on earth, we're being forced to close the doors on people who have nowhere else to turn. Donors have the power to change that. This is the moment to show up for Sudan.”
Water Systems At Risk
IRC teams have begun transferring a water system supplying 24,000 liters a day to a returnee camp to other responders, but most services are not confirmed to continue. More than 100,000 people could lose safe water, sanitation and hygiene programs as cholera continues to spread in Sudan.
Families in Tawila, North Darfur, will also lose cash assistance for food, shelter and water. The area received thousands of displaced people from besieged El-Fasher last year.
Funding Gap Remains
Sudan’s 2026 humanitarian response plan is 42.8 percent funded, leaving a gap in resources for 14 million people displaced within Sudan and across its borders. IRC urges donors to commit urgently to closing the shortfall before more lives are lost, and to prevent a collapse of the few services still reaching displaced families in Blue Nile, Khartoum, Darfur and beyond.
