‘What keeps me going is our city, our people’: A doctor’s story from El Fasher under attack

In El Fasher, Sudan, Dr Mohamed has witnessed unimaginable suffering. Once dreaming of teaching anatomy at El Fasher University, he found himself treating patients with expired medicine, performing surgeries under drones, and had to see patients pass away because there was no blood, few supplies, and often no food.

“What keeps me going is our city, our people,” he said in a voice note, despite the daily attacks and hardships.

On 28 October 2025, more than 460 patients and companions were reportedly killed when the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan’s Darfur region, was attacked following the Rapid Support Forces’ takeover. Many of Dr. Mohamed’s colleagues were killed, and we have been unable to reestablish contact with him.

The OCHA-managed Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) had, thanks to our funding partners, supported the hospital with cholera supplies shortly before the attacks, showing the vital role of humanitarian responders even in one of the world’s most dangerous places for health workers.

Read Dr Mohamed’s story about the collapse of health services in El Fasher and why protecting healthcare and humanitarian access in Sudan is urgent: https://unocha.exposure.co/under-attack-in-el-fasher

Posted November 2025.

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