Sudan Clinics Face Immediate Stock — Out Due to Middle East Conflict: Save the Children. Khartoum, Sudan — Medical supplies for clinics treating the humanitarian crisis in Sudan are at risk of running out within two weeks, according to Save the Children.
The charity attributes this to disruptions in global supply chains caused by the escalating conflict in the Middle East, specifically the US — Israeli war on Iran.
These supplies are critical for approximately 90 Sudanese government-run clinics that serve around 400,000 patients and have no alternative in-country source. Willem Zuidema, Save the Children’s global director of supply chain safety, warned that the situation is urgent: “We have a couple of weeks to do this rerouting before the country’s stocks run out.
The clock is ticking.”.
He added that once buffer stocks are depleted, patients will be unable to access basic healthcare support.
The conflict in Sudan, which has been ongoing for three years, has displaced millions of people, triggering one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
The Middle East conflict, according to UN aid chief Tom Fletcher, is straining humanitarian supply chains, with particular pressure on sub — Saharan Africa and Gaza.
The World Health Organization has also warned of growing medical supply shortages in Sudan.
The situation is further complicated by rising transport costs, which have increased aid budgets constrained by major donor cuts. Save the Children noted that container freight rates have risen by about 25–30%, adding weeks to delivery times.
Zuidema compared the current disruption to freight and cost impact to those of the initial stages of the Ukraine war and COVID pandemic, emphasizing the lack of buffer in the system after the aid cuts.
Save the Children’s country budget for Sudan this year has been reduced by $4 million, now totaling $98 million. Further details are expected as the situation develops.
