31 May-6 June 2026 Sudan News Summary: Healthcare crisis, severe weather

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

Drug shortages threaten lives of wounded in Kauda clashes, South Kordofan

• Those wounded in the recent clashes in the Kauda area of ​​South Kordofan State are facing critical health conditions at Al-Luwairi Hospital, west of the city, due to a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, hindering the provision of necessary treatment.

• A medical source stated that the hospital is suffering from a severe shortage of medical equipment, intravenous fluids, painkillers, and anaesthetics, limiting its ability to perform surgeries, especially major operations for critical cases.

• The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) called on humanitarian organisations to intervene urgently to support those affected and displaced before the rainy season, and appealed to residents who have sought refuge in the mountains to return to their areas to benefit from available humanitarian aid.

From: Sudan Tribune

Hundreds of families left homeless after dust storm uproots tents in Tawila, west of El Fasher

• A powerful dust storm on Friday evening caused widespread damage to displacement camps in the Tawila area, west of El Fasher, uprooting tents and leaving hundreds of families homeless, according to local sources.

• The sources said the storm lasted for hours, completely obscuring visibility and forcing displaced people to flee their camps in search of safer locations, amid dire humanitarian conditions and a shortage of basic aid.

• Relief teams explained that a number of people with respiratory illnesses, especially asthma, faced breathing difficulties due to the heavy dust, exacerbated by the lack of medical protection.

• Local authorities affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) urged residents to stay indoors during storms and wear masks to minimise dust exposure, and advised against gatherings due to the spread of infectious diseases within the displacement camps.

• Tawila, which is under the control of the movement led by Abdul Wahid Muhammad Nur, is one of the largest areas receiving displaced people in Sudan, as it shelters about 665,000 people, most of whom fled from the city of El Fasher because of the fighting taking place in the state.

From: Sudan Akhbar

English news roundup

By Samuel Hunt

Sudan's healthcare struggles, sexual violence soars and local volunteers are left to hold the crisis together

• Three years of war have decimated Sudan's pharmaceutical supply chains, forcing patients onto smuggled, frequently spoiled medicines; 40% of health facilities are non-operational nationwide, rising to 87% in Khartoum, while drone attacks have killed dozens of medical staff in recent months.

• Survivors in Khartoum describe being abducted by RSF fighters, held for days, raped repeatedly and forced to pay ransoms for their release — with captors torturing victims on phone calls to extract more money from relatives; the UN describes sexual violence as one of the most defining features of Sudan's war, with incidents rising nearly 195% since it began, while US funding cuts have stripped more than $370 million from the UN body supporting survivors.

• Local volunteer networks have sustained communities through three years of crisis, but researchers warn they are exhausted, unprotected under international humanitarian law, and let down by a global aid system that is slow, inflexible and increasingly directing funding elsewhere.

Sources: Al Jazeera, The Associated Press, The Conversation