Factors Leading to increased morbidity among Detainees in Conflict Zones in Sudan (2024–2026)
Factors Leading to increased morbidity among Detainees in Conflict Zones in Sudan (2024–2026)
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Date
2026
Authors
Hala Kamal Fadlallah Hamad
Zainab Al-Rashid Ahmed Dafallah
Israa Hamam Saleh Al-Badri
Amr Moaz Al-Siddiq Al-Bashir
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Napata College
Abstract
BSTRACT
Background:
The armed conflict in Sudan (2024-2026) has led to a critical humanitarian crisis,
characterized by a sharp rise in morbidity rates within non-typical detention sites. This study
examines the medical and environmental factors contributing to these health crises within
centers that included civilian facilities and official prisons forcibly converted into detention
camps for prisoners and detainees following field control over them. These environments
lack the minimum health and humanitarian standards, where they can be described as
inhuman, turning them into unknown hotspots lacking oversight, basic medical protocols,
and international legal protection.
Objectives:
This research aims to determine the prevalence of infectious diseases as primary causes of
morbidity and to identify the role of acute malnutrition in causing systemic organ failure. It
also seeks to identify the medical complications of physical trauma, assess the impact of
deprivation of essential medicines for chronic diseases, and determine the effect of logistical
barriers and delayed medical evacuation on morbidity rates.
Methodology:
A cross-sectional analytical design was followed using a questionnaire distributed to a
sample of 110 participants, including former prisoners, field medical personnel,
eyewitnesses, and relatives of detainees. Data were analyzed to infer pathophysiological
pathways based on reported clinical symptoms.
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Results:
The results revealed a "synergistic lethality" system; where malnutrition and metabolic
collapse were the leading cause of morbidity at (52.7%), followed by the interruption of care
and essential medicines for chronic diseases at (40.9%). Environmental factors contributed to
34.5% of cases, while traumatic rhabdomyolysis and violence-induced renal failure were
associated with 31.8%. A statistically significant correlation was also found between the
deprivation of medical evacuation for prisoners during the "Golden Hour" and the occurrence
of severe health complications.
Conclusion:
This study concludes, based on documented data and field testimonies, that the mass
morbidity among detainees in Sudan (2024–2026) is not merely "collateral complications" of
the war, but rather a direct result of a forced detention environment designed to undermine
life. The deadly intersection between deliberate starvation (which led to 52.7% of morbidity
cases), the withholding of necessary chronic disease medications (40.9%), and the prevention
of medical evacuation has transformed detention centers into environments lacking the
minimum human standards. The research confirms that the loss of the "Golden Hour" due to
logistical intransigence represents an indirect tool for health deterioration, making survival
within these detention camps an exception rather than the rule, and constitutes a grave
violation of medical protocols, the Third Geneva Convention, and International
Humanitarian Law.
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Napata College