Sudan's Digital Health Transformation: Vision, Reality, and the Road Ahead

Abstract

Sudan's health system has been in acute crisis since the outbreak of armed conflict in April 2023. Over the past decade, scattered digital health efforts have emerged: one hospital has begun using electronic medical records, one clinic has developed a maternal health app, and several other tools have been built to combat specific diseases. Each digital product operates independently, so there is no data sharing.This limitation has compounded the huge financial losses inflicted by the ongoing conflict, which has cost the Sudanese healthcare sector approximately $700 million. The gap between what was anticipated of digital health (accessible, equitable care) and its actual delivery (inequitable access that costs lives) is widening. Based on four publications from this journal and current global digital health evidence, this commentary argues that Sudan must commit to three priorities to transition its disparate pilots into a coherent national system: develop a comprehensive data governance law; properly train healthcare providers in digital tools; and conduct Sudan-specific research rather than uncritically replicating models developed elsewhere.  Patients can no longer remain dependent on disconnected policy documents — they need a system that remembers them when they walk through the door.