Two mobile primary health care units launched today in Khartoum by UNDP, IOM, Health Development Program, Khartoum state Ministry of Health and Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health mark an important milestone in efforts to restore essential services after years of conflict and displacement.

The new units are part of a network of nine set up with funding from the Global Fund that has deployed across Sudan under the C19RM response mechanism. Integrated into the national health system, the clinics provide life-saving care for communities uprooted by war, refugees, returnees and people living in hard-to-reach areas.

Health on Wheels

Each clinic is a fully equipped facility mounted on a truck. Powered by solar, the Khartoum units include consultation rooms and a laboratory, enabling medical teams to deliver a comprehensive package of services including treatment for HIV and TB, maternal and child health, family planning, nutrition screening, vaccinations, mental health support and integrated sexual and reproductive health services, as well as safe access points for survivors of gender-based violence.

The teams are staffed with doctors, nurses, midwives, lab technicians, pharmacists, nutritionists, psychologists and health promoters. They bring care directly to neighbourhoods where hospitals and clinics have been destroyed, abandoned or remain inaccessible.

“The mobile primary health care approach is a practical way to increase health coverage, service quality and health equity by reaching more distant and remote areas,” said Dr Esmat Mustafa, Minster of Health Representative and Advisor to Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health.

“Healthcare is essential for families returning to Khartoum and these mobile units provide life-saving services while we work with partners to restore permanent facilities,” said Luca Renda, UNDP Sudan Resident Representative. “Their launch is a concrete sign of recovery and reassurance for people taking the difficult step of coming back.”

The recent reopening of UNDP’s Khartoum office is enabling a broader scale-up of recovery work. Alongside the mobile health clinics, UNDP is supporting the restoration of water and electricity, debris clearance and efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. Together, these initiatives help provide a foundation for safer, healthier communities and a gradual return to normal life.

Reaching the Most Vulnerable

The two Khartoum units join seven others already operating across the country. In the past six months alone, the network has served more than 42,000 people.

In partnership with IOM, clinics are reaching border communities and displaced families in Northern State; providing care to returnees, refugees and host communities in Kassala and Gedaref ; and serving remote coastal populations in Red Sea State. A further unit operated by UNFPA in Red Sea State is delivering comprehensive care for internally displaced people and host communities.

For more details on UNDP’s work on healthcare and other essential services see: https://www.undp.org/sudan/projects/equitable-access-essential-services.