Neglected communities in Sudan's Jebel Marra mountains need urgent support

Access to health care is one of the most urgent and challenging issues in conflict-affected regions across Sudan. In the remote mountainous area of Jebel Marra, Darfur, the situation in the towns of Sortoni, Rokero, and Kass is extremely dire.

These towns have been deprived of adequate assistance and neglected by aid actors for over two years since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began. Throughout the war, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working to provide medical care to communities cut off by both geography and conflict, but the needs exceed our capacity to respond alone. MSF calls on donors and other humanitarian actors to step up their support to address the growing needs.

A view of the village of Sortoni in Sudan. — People used to buy most of their food at this once-thriving market in Sortoni, but years of shortages and inflation mean that there is little to buy, and most people do not have enough money to get what they need. | Sudan 2025 © Thibault Fendler/MSF

Displaced people face desolation in Sortoni

“We see aid trucks passing by, but they never stop,” says Zeineb, a member of the community in Sortoni. “We are suffering too. Why are we not considered?”

Sortoni: A once-thriving hub now abandoned in Sudan's Darfur region

Sortoni, a village that was once a humanitarian hub for the region, now feels abandoned. It hosts a camp that was created after violence broke out in the area in 2016. Since the war started in 2023, aid organizations have withdrawn from the town, leaving behind empty buildings and dry taps. MSF is the only international NGO still working in Sortoni, providing basic health care and nutrition programs. However, the needs far exceed the available resources, with 612 children under 5 admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the start of 2025.

arwan Taher, MSF head of mission in Central Darfur, and the team walk through the outskirts of Umu in Sudan, where we support a primary health care center. — Difficult terrain adds to the challenges of accessing communities in Jebel Marra. Here, Marwan Taher, MSF head of mission in Central Darfur, and the team walk through the outskirts of Umu, where we support a primary health care center. | Sudan 2025 © Taha Husain/MSF

Challenges of geography in Kass

In Kass, despite the difficult terrain and ongoing insecurity, MSF teams have managed to carry out over 23,200 medical consultations and treat nearly 3,000 malaria patients in the first half of 2025 alone.

Providing medical care in Jebel Marra goes beyond logistics. We cross mountains to support people who live in isolation and face difficulties accessing basic health care services after years of neglect and conflict.
Resit Elcin, MSF project coordinator in Kass

“Providing medical care in Jebel Marra goes beyond logistics,” says Resit Elcin, MSF project coordinator in Kass. “We cross mountains to support people who live in isolation and face difficulties accessing basic health care services after years of neglect and conflict.”

Measles out break in Rokero, Central Darfur. Sudan — In Rokero, nurse Salah Aldeen inserts an intravenous line for 3-year-old Marwa, who was admitted the day before with symptoms of measles. | Sudan 2025 © Thibault Fendler/MSF

Filling the gaps in Rokero

During MSF's measles vaccination campaign in Rokero last November, MSF teams vaccinated over 9,000 children. Marwan Taher, MSF’s head of mission in Central Darfur, witnessed the dire need for scaled-up humanitarian aid: The health care system is on the brink, food insecurity is rampant, and waves of displaced people continue to arrive. MSF is one of only four international humanitarian organizations still operational in Rokero, though our teams are struggling to fill gaps far beyond their capacity.

We see aid trucks passing by, but they never stop. We are suffering too. Why are we not considered?
Zeineb, Sortoni resident

The humanitarian situation across Sudan's Darfur region remains critical. As the needs grow, massive areas are difficult to reach. MSF’s continued presence in places like Kass, Rokero, and Sortoni is proof that humanitarian work remains possible, even under the harshest conditions—but without urgent international support, the future of these communities remains bleak.