Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Mobilises Emergency Public-Health Response After Hospital Attack in Sudan

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is currently dispatching critical medical commodities and supplies following the 28 October 2025 attack on the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. The assault, which killed hundreds of patients and caregivers and led to the abduction of several health workers, has crippled one of the few remaining medical facilities in the region and raised grave concerns about the continuity of essential health services.

Africa CDC, in collaboration with the African Union Humanitarian Affairs Division, has recently deployed emergency medical and laboratory experts to assess the situation in Sudan and support outbreak control, sustain essential health services and reinforce biosafety in the affected area. The agency’s Epidemic Intelligence team is working closely with Sudan’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization to verify casualty figures, monitor potential disease outbreaks and assess the broader public-health impact.

“This is not only a human tragedy but a public-health emergency,” said Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC. “Our immediate priority is to preserve life, prevent secondary outbreaks and protect the health infrastructure that communities depend on. Health facilities and workers must never be targets of war.”

Africa CDC is also urging all parties to the conflict to protect the integrity of laboratories and biomedical facilities that store or handle high-consequence pathogens, warning that any compromise of these sites could pose serious biosecurity and public-health risks.

Sudan continues to face multiple overlapping outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, measles and diphtheria — all intensified by conflict, mass displacement, and restricted access to healthcare. Repeated attacks on hospitals and clinics are further undermining the fragile system that supports outbreak control, maternal and child health, and immunisation services, placing millions at increased risk across the region.

In light of these escalating health risks, Africa CDC is calling for an immediate halt to violence against health facilities and personnel, the protection of humanitarian and medical access, and full respect for international humanitarian law. The agency is reaffirming its commitment to work with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, the African Union, WHO and humanitarian partners to restore essential services, strengthen outbreak response and safeguard regional health security.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).