(MENAFN) The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has initiated an emergency public-health operation following a deadly assault on the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, western Sudan, that left hundreds dead and several health workers abducted.

In a statement issued Saturday, the Africa CDC confirmed that it is sending urgent medical supplies to the area after last week’s attack, which struck one of the few remaining functioning hospitals in the region.

“The assault, which killed hundreds of patients and caregivers and led to the abduction of several health workers, has crippled one of the few remaining medical facilities in the region and raised grave concerns about the continuity of essential health services,” the Africa CDC said.

The agency warned that Sudan’s escalating conflict, massive internal displacement, and limited access to healthcare are deepening an already dire health emergency. The country is simultaneously battling outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, measles, and diphtheria.

As the African Union’s specialized health body, the Africa CDC said it has dispatched emergency medical and laboratory experts to the region to help contain disease outbreaks, sustain health services, and reinforce biosafety measures.

Working jointly with Sudan’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa CDC said it is verifying casualty numbers, monitoring for new epidemic threats, and assessing the wider health consequences of the attack.

“This is not only a human tragedy but a public-health emergency,” the statement quoted Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, as saying. “Our immediate priority is to preserve life, prevent secondary outbreaks, and protect the health infrastructure that communities depend on. Health facilities and workers must never be targets of war.”

The agency also called on all sides in the conflict to protect laboratories and biomedical facilities handling dangerous pathogens, warning that any breaches could trigger severe biosecurity and public health risks.

On Wednesday, Sudan’s government reported that more than 2,000 civilians had been killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since their incursion into El Fasher.

Sudan remains engulfed in a brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, a conflict that erupted in April 2023. The fighting has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee, plunging the nation deeper into humanitarian catastrophe.

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