The United Nations has sounded a stark alarm about a burgeoning mental health emergency in Sudan, describing it as a crisis spiraling in the shadows of the country's protracted conflict. The warning, issued during a recent event at the UN in Geneva focused on Sudan's humanitarian disaster, points to the weaponization of sexual violence as a primary driver of severe psychological trauma among a population already devastated by violence and displacement.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023, has now raged for over three years. The toll is catastrophic: tens of thousands have been killed, and approximately 11 million people—roughly a quarter of the population—have been forced from their homes. Amidst this chaos, UN agencies and aid organizations report that rape and other forms of sexual violence are being used systematically as tools of war, leaving survivors with deep, often untreated, psychological scars.
"For every woman who discloses, there are probably eight or nine women who've been raped and who will suffer in silence," warned Avni Amin, head of the World Health Organization's gender-based violence unit, highlighting the immense stigma that prevents survivors from seeking help.
The scale of the problem is daunting. The medical charity Doctors Without Borders reported that at least 3,396 survivors, nearly all women and girls, received treatment at facilities it supports in North and South Darfur between January 2024 and November 2025. However, the WHO stresses that this figure likely represents only a fraction of the true scale. The barriers to care are immense: insecurity, destroyed infrastructure, and a critical shortage of healthcare workers trained to handle such cases.
"Accessing services when you are raped is very, very challenging," Amin explained, citing the difficulty of reaching functioning health establishments and the lack of specialized medical and psychological support.
The absence of timely and comprehensive care has dire consequences. Shoko Arakaki, head of the UN Population Fund's humanitarian response division, emphasized the critical 72-hour window for clinical treatment for victims of sexual violence. "But we don't have services, we don't have medicines," she stated bluntly.
Perhaps the most chilling indicator of the crisis's severity is the toll on mental health. "A lot of suicide is happening," Arakaki reported, underscoring the urgent need for psychosocial support for a growing number of victims laden with severe trauma. Both officials stressed that the current humanitarian response, while focused on saving lives, must dramatically scale up mental health services.
As the conflict grinds on with no end in sight, the UN's warning casts a spotlight on one of its most devastating and enduring consequences: a mental health catastrophe that will impact Sudanese society for generations to come.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
