Sightsavers in Sudan

Sudan is a country in the Sahel region of northeast Africa. It was the largest country on the continent until South Sudan gained independence in 2011.

As one of the world’s biggest agricultural exporters, most people in Sudan are employed in farming and live in rural areas, where there is an inadequate water supply and poor sanitation. These conditions mean that neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma are rife.

Sudan has been devastated by years of civil war, leaving the country’s health care system very fragile. This means many people are unable to get medical care.

Sightsavers’ work in Sudan focuses on protecting people from neglected tropical diseases. In 2014, we began tracking the spread of trachoma in Darfur states, expanding to Khartoum in 2015. This enabled the country’s ministry of health to pinpoint exactly where to run treatment programmes.

In 2016, we began to distribute medication to prevent and treat trachoma in central, west and north Darfur – an area the size of France. Since then, Sightsavers has distributed hundreds of thousands of treatments for eye diseases such as trachoma and carried out eye screenings in areas of Sudan affected by civil war.

Contact us: If you have any questions about our work in Sudan, would like more information about our programmes or wish to discuss ways you can donate or support us, email [email protected]