KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Friday of a growing measles outbreak in Sudan’s Darfur region after more than 1,300 cases were recorded since September 2025, citing delays in urgent and effective vaccination campaigns.

More than 1,300 measles cases were reported since September 2025 at health facilities supported by MSF, despite repeated warnings about the need to launch emergency vaccination drives and resume routine immunization programs, the organization said in a statement.

Delays in vaccine delivery and repeated postponements of reactive vaccination campaigns have left children without protection as the outbreak continues to spread, it added.

Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has worsened since a war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April 2023 over a dispute on unifying the military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 13 million.

MSF urged Sudanese authorities to remove what it called “bureaucratic and administrative obstacles” preventing the transport of vaccines across Darfur.

The group also called on UNICEF to urgently coordinate efforts to scale up the delivery of vaccines, syringes, and essential supplies to the region.

It further appealed to state-level and federal health ministries to immediately launch a measles vaccination campaign and restore routine immunization programs.

Ahmed Fadel, the group’s emergency coordinator in Darfur, said measles is preventable through routine immunization and timely reactive vaccination, but both have been severely limited by the conflict, administrative barriers, and delays by key agencies.

“These delays leave children exposed to potentially deadly diseases,” Fadel said.

He added that more than 34% of patients in the cities of Zalingei and Nyala suffer from acute malnutrition, which worsens measles symptoms and can quickly lead to life-threatening complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis.

The three Kordofan states -- North, West, and South -- have seen weeks of fierce fighting between the army and the RSF, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army, in turn, holds most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital Khartoum.