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November’s episode of the Wales, Africa and the World Podcast features Israa Mohammed, Chair of Global Health Partnerships Cymru and an advanced epidemiological scientist from Sudan, now working at Public Health Wales where she investigates trends in diseases and makes sure Wales is prepared to respond to outbreaks.
This episode focuses on the ongoing civil war in Sudan, the resulting humanitarian catastrophe (the largest ever in human history) and its devastating impact on public health.
We began with Israa’s life in Sudan, where she was studying for a master’s degree in clinical pharmacy at university, and first got her taste of the importance of good public health.
“I loved interacting and helping patients. But then over time I began to realise that I actually wanted to make a change at the population level. And this is what drew me to public health.”
In 2018, Israa won a prestigious scholarship from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) to study for a master’s in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. That same year, civil war broke out across Sudan. I asked her about her reflections of that time.
“I remember in December 2018 when the protests started in Atbara in Sudan and the demand was to reduce the cost of bread… So at the start my sister used to study law at the University of Khartoum and she was very actively involved in politics and she was very actively involved in the revolution itself. So she started going to protests and then I started going with her to protect her.
“But then I found myself participating without my sister and demanding the three basic things that people were asking for: freedom, peace and justice.”
These protests were met with horrific and oppressive measures by the then President, Omar al-Bashir. Ultimately, the protests sparked a revolution toppling President al-Bashir; the culmination of decades of brutal dictatorship and war crimes of which he has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We managed to get rid of the dictatorship by the end of those protests. And what I do remember from those times is the unity, how different people from different parts of Sudan coming together just to demand the same basic three things that we all called for and the support from everyone, the food that was shared by everyone, the water and it was a lovely atmosphere during the protest.”
That hopeful time of unity and change was not to last, however. Seven years after the toppling of al-Bashir, the people of Sudan are still suffering in a prolonged and bloody civil war and the largest humanitarian crisis the world has seen. Twenty months into the most recent conflict between the Government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the IPC warns of a widening famine crisis. 24 million people are living in acute hunger and 12 million people have had to flee their homes. I asked Israa how did Sudan get here?
“After Al-Bashir was removed from the government, Sudan entered a transitional period with civilian and military power sharing the government.
“It was very fragile from the start because the economic collapse was very obvious at that time and the political instability worsened… One of the big mistakes is incorporating the RSF militia into [the] military and this is one of the main reasons actually behind the current war.”
Israa describes how the transition and promises of democratic and civilian government were disrupted and broken by a military coup in 2021 and an eventual civil war between the SAF and RSF in April 2023.
When that civil war broke out, Israa was home visiting her family. She recalls the horror and heartbreak of hearing the bombs fall, normal life being lost, and seeing armed children patrolling the streets, having been forcibly recruited by the militia. At the urging of her family, Israa had to flee Sudan by bus following the destruction of the main airport.
“… passing through lots of checkpoints and seeing the destruction, seeing blood, seeing people actually pointing guns towards each other. So it was an awful experience… And I managed to leave. I managed to escape and be evacuated from Port Sudan.”
The conflict and human crisis in Sudan is all-consuming. Tens of millions of people have been displaced within Sudan itself, not including to neighbouring countries or as refugees in countries further away.
The conversation moves to the latest developments in the civil war. At the time of recording, the capital of North Darfur state and a major city in the west of Sudan – Al-Fashir – fell to the RSF. What has followed has been blatant war crimes, with summary and mass executions corroborated by satellite imagery and videos of RSF soldiers bragging about their deeds. I ask Israa to talk about the public health catastrophe which is unfolding in Sudan.
“It’s just disastrous what’s happening in El Fasher at this moment. And as we speak now, the RSF are committing their crimes and atrocities and killing people and competing on the number of people they killed per day.”
She goes on to describe how the last hospital left in Darfur was destroyed and its 500 patients killed by the RSF. The consequences of these vital public health assets being destroyed are profound. Israa explains:
“Malnutrition is a definite issue in Darfur. People are starving. People were eating animal feeds for weeks and now they don’t have anything to eat and just dying. So many outbreaks of cholera, measles, leishmaniasis and many other diseases are there. And no one is able to help. There is nothing to do. No one is able to provide support because of the RSF militia.”
Not only are the buildings and facilities being targeted and destroyed, but so are the health professionals. Doctors, nurses, community health workers are dying and no one is replacing them. This makes a perilous situation for millions of displaced and fleeing Sudanese even worse. Israa talks about the city of Tawila – about 60km from Al-Fashir – whose health system is being crushed under the the need of those fleeing RSF violence. She says:
“So you can imagine the toll of the disease outbreaks and health conditions that is added to the already fragile place. And of course, you know, the areas that take the most refugees are the areas right next to the disaster zone. Absolutely. And if they were already struggling, if the infrastructure was already struggling, it’s not an easy thing to cope with. And we don’t know what the effects of that would be.”
The conversation moves to hope, resilience and solidarity. I ask Israa how, in the face of the harrowing and heartbreaking story we’ve just been through, is resilience manifesting itself among the Sudanese people, most famously, Emergency Response Rooms.
“Sudanese people are very resilient.” she explains. “And this is probably because of the oppression that we have lived in and the hardship that we experienced in the past as well.
“Currently, communities are running kitchens, people cook food and just distribute it to everyone. And they do volunteer for providing basic medical care. And they do support their communities and they do share resources. And even if they don’t have, they try to find something in support in what they can support with.”
It comes as little surprise that at the vanguard of this grassroots solidarity are women. Israa adds:
“Women are leading so many grassroots [movements] in Sudan and to help people stay alive. And I feel the culture of solidarity is very deeply rooted in Sudan, despite the challenges, despite the war, despite the injustice, we still believe in resilience. And I hope that this will be also something that will get us through the current situation.”
The conversation moves to how the global community can stand up and show solidarity with Sudan. Israa is the new Chair of Global Health Partnerships Cymru, one of the four key partners in the Hub Cymru Africa Partnership. It’s about connecting the health sector in Wales with the world to promote good health, rooted in global solidarity. I ask Israa how people in Wales, the Sudanese diaspora and African diaspora show solidarity with the people of Sudan. Israa explains:
“Global Health Partnerships Cymru has been working around partnerships, collaboration, connection, bi-directional learning, supporting countries in need, and strengthening health systems. And there are so many things people can do in Wales and many forms of solidarity can be shown at the organizations and also at the individual level.
“The basic and the first thing that I would like everyone to do is to raise awareness, to talk about Sudan, to learn about Sudan and what’s happening in Sudan, because Sudanese lives matter.
“And there are so many Sudanese-led initiatives in the UK, but also in Sudan.
“Advocacy for the restoration of humanitarian funding, something that we’ll touch on maybe, but that would be super helpful. And I think policy advocacy”.
Policy advocacy is an important point for Israa. This is not a conflict happening in a vacuum, but there are backers, supporters, financiers and international actors with an active role in Sudan’s civil war. Israa explains:
“We need to talk very loudly about taking the support from the militia. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) … shouldn’t support the militia to kill the Sudanese people. And we should all say the same. There is strong evidence that showed that UAE is contributing to the war in Sudan through the RSF, and this is not right.”
In addition to the UAE supplying weapons to the RSF, who are subsequently engaging in war crimes, Western countries have themselves contributed to this conflict through their historical colonial role in the region, as well as their most recent actions (or indeed, in-actions). This civil war and humanitarian catastrophe is a direct descendent of the atrocities of British colonialism. In addition to this, this year has seen the United States of America, under President Trump, dismantle USAID completely, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer followed suit by nearly halving the overseas aid budget (which had already been slashed in 2021 by the Boris Johnson government). I ask Israa for her reflections on these cuts to funding for global solidarity projects by the world’s richest countries.
“It’s deeply concerning and cutting aid while millions of people are facing hunger, displacement, outbreaks and collapsing hospitals is disastrous, I would say. The UK and other governments must restore and even increase the funding to meet the scale of the crisis in Sudan. And as you highlighted in this, humanitarian aid must remain neutral… And I will mention it again and again to condemn the UAE for their support to the militia. And they should stop supplying the militia financially and with weapons and they should stop it.”
On the topic of what we can do here to drive positive change in Sudan (and the rest of the world), the conversation moves to next year where Wales will elect a new Senedd. I ask Israa what message she has for the parties ahead of the election and for the new Welsh Government which will be formed after May 2026.
“The Wales and Africa programme has been quite successful in supporting so many countries in Africa. And Wales has shown so much solidarity through [it]. I would like the next government to continue on this and even to extend it further and to support more countries.
“… we learned that there are so many benefits to the countries, the recipients, but also to Wales. We have noticed and documented the bi-directional learning, how Welsh staff benefit from going to different countries and bringing back the expertise from there and different perspectives and supporting their organisations in a different way and finding innovative approaches.”
As the conversation ends, I ask Israa what gives her hope (if any). Unsurprisingly, she brings focus back to the Sudanese people themselves, especially the women who have stepped up, in the face of death and oppression to care for, to show what solidarity truly means. Israa explains:
“… it’s not new to Sudanese women. They led lots of initiatives and they occupied lots of political spaces … before the Omar al-Bashir government. But it’s very inspiring to see how people support each other despite the hardship, how neighbours come together to support themselves.
“… our culture is based on solidarity. And it will remain strong, and I hope that it will continue to go from strength to strength… I’m so looking forward for this war to end, and the resilience of Sudanese people will make it happen.”
Listen to the full interview with Israa on the Wales, Africa and the World Podcast on your favourite podcast platform or via the Hub Cymru Africa website.
In July 2023, a fundraising bazaar was held jointly by Hub Cymru Africa, Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel, the NON-PLACE Collective and the Umbrella Art Collective. Read more about the event here.
