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UN PhotoUNFPA / SUDAN MEDICAL FACILITY DESTRUCTION
STORY: UNFPA / SUDAN MEDICAL FACILITY DESTRUCTION
TRT: 05:34
SOURCE: UNFPA
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNFPA ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 MAY 2026, IBRAHIM MALIK HOSPITAL, KHARTOUM, SUDAN
1. Wide shot, Andrew Saberton, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (Management), walking through extensive debris and destroyed furniture outside of the hospital building
2. Wide shot, a pile of destroyed medical equipment outside the hospital facility
3. Wide shot, the exterior of the damaged hospital building
4. Med shot, Saberton and UNFPA staff
5. Med shot, Saberton looking through a shattered window into a destroyed building.
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“You can see around me where you just see wanton destruction. Some of it deliberate, some of it collateral. The Total Health Facility, which was the main medical facility in Khartoum has fundamentally been destroyed during this conflict. Look around you. This is man-made destruction. There is absolutely no reason or rationale, any justification for this anywhere in the world.”
7. Various shots, dark rooms and destroyed incubators and medical equipment
8. Various shots, destroyed ambulance and water tower
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“I look around and I see bullet holes and shrapnel damage to the equipment. I see shell holes in the water supply. Such a crucial supply for a hospital. We're not going to let that get us down. We're not actually going to let that. Because when everyone tries to, you know, want us to look at the worst in the world, we've got to get used to, and what we've got to push is to see the best in the world. And I've seen some of that here today in the enthusiasm, the drive and the actual sheer dedication of the workers, the medical staff, our partners on the ground to rebuild and we must rebuild.”
10. Wide shot, UNFPA and partner staff walking through the hospital complex
11. Various shots, workers removing damaged metal frames and equipment from the building
12. Med shot, UNFPA and partner staff walking through the hospital complex
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“This country has the worst displaced population statistics anywhere in the world. Okay. I visited camps last week with hundreds of thousands of people, particularly women and girls, living in dire situations. But they want to return. They are returning here to Khartoum. They've started to return. But we need to give them the basic infrastructure to allow that return and some normality to the lives that they left behind. And actually, we're doing that and we'll continue to do that. We've seen some of the progress today. The wards are coming together. The equipment is starting to go in. We need to do more. The speed is being done very quickly because we are actually going to show out of all this darkness that we will bring some light to this place, and we will shine that light on the people of Sudan.”
14. Various shots, ongoing rebuilding work
Ongoing conflict and attacks on healthcare infrastructure in Sudan continue to disrupt essential medical services and endanger civilian lives, leaving much of Sudan’s health system barely functioning, with only 63 percent of health facilities partially operational.
Recent violence has left thousands of women and adolescent girls without access to emergency obstetric care and clinical management of rape services.
UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (Management) Andrew Saberton recently visited Ibrahim Malik Hospital — the main medical facility in Khartoum — to assess the severe destruction to its infrastructure.
SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“You can see around me where you just see wanton destruction. Some of it deliberate, some of it collateral. The Total Health Facility, which was the main medical facility in Khartoum has fundamentally been destroyed during this conflict. Look around you. This is man-made destruction. There is absolutely no reason or rationale, any justification for this anywhere in the world.”
The hospital complex suffered extensive damage during the war, compromising critical medical equipment, incubators, ambulances, and water supply facilities. Despite the scale of the destruction, local health workers and humanitarian partners have initiated cleanup and rebuilding efforts to restore basic medical capacity.
SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“I look around and I see bullet holes and shrapnel damage to the equipment. I see shell holes in the water supply. Such a crucial supply for a hospital. We're not going to let that get us down. We're not actually going to let that. Because when everyone tries to, you know, want us to look at the worst in the world, we've got to get used to, and what we've got to push is to see the best in the world. And I've seen some of that here today in the enthusiasm, the drive and the actual sheer dedication of the workers, the medical staff, our partners on the ground to rebuild and we must rebuild.”
The breakdown of infrastructure coincides with an unprecedented displacement crisis, with Sudan currently recording the highest number of displaced people globally.
SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Saberton, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
“This country has the worst displaced population statistics anywhere in the world. Okay. I visited camps last week with hundreds of thousands of people, particularly women and girls, living in dire situations. But they want to return. They are returning here to Khartoum. They've started to return. But we need to give them the basic infrastructure to allow that return and some normality to the lives that they left behind. And actually, we're doing that and we'll continue to do that. We've seen some of the progress today. The wards are coming together. The equipment is starting to go in. We need to do more. The speed is being done very quickly because we are actually going to show out of all this darkness that we will bring some light to this place, and we will shine that light on the people of Sudan.”
As families, particularly vulnerable women and girls, begin attempting to return to Khartoum, restoring essential health facilities remains critical to providing basic care and stability. In March alone, UNFPA supported 83 health facilities across 16 states, delivering sexual and reproductive health services to 62,200 people and providing gender-based violence prevention and protection services to more than 102,000 individuals.
To sustain these emergency operations and rebuild critical health infrastructure in 2026, UNFPA has appealed for US$129.2 million. To date, only 29 percent of the required funding has been secured, leaving a funding gap of US$92 million to meet acute health and protection needs across Sudan.
