NUBA MOUNTAINS — Fatouma Mahdi Ahmed Saeed is undergoing another round of chemotherapy at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains after a perilous journey from Darfur. She relies on the care of Dr. Tom Catena in a region devoid of oncology specialists.

Saeed has cervical cancer, a diagnosis she received last year from a private doctor in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. To pay for the diagnosis, she sold one of her calves and sought help from her family. Many hospitals in Nyala have been destroyed or badly damaged in the fighting that began in 2023.

Saeed traveled hundreds of miles to Mother of Mercy Hospital in central Sudan for treatment. Her journey took her from Darfur to South Sudan last year in search of care. During the trip, she avoided drone strikes and was stopped at checkpoints manned by soldiers.

When she became tired, she lay down in the dirt to rest. Her sister and son accompanied her, subsisting on flour cooked into simple meals.

Catena treated Saeed at Mother of Mercy Hospital after she traveled from South Sudan to the Nuba Mountains. He is the only permanent surgeon in the Nuba Mountains and originally trained in family medicine. There is no oncologist on staff at the hospital.

Catena estimated that the nearest hospital capable of delivering cancer care is in Port Sudan, some 700 miles away. Port Sudan is located across an active frontline from the Nuba Mountains.

Saeed returned to Mother of Mercy Hospital for a follow-up appointment after initially returning home to Darfur. Cancers are often far advanced by the time patients reach the facility. The hospital must send tissue samples to the United States because it lacks equipment to review biopsies.

It can take as long as six months to receive results. Catena often makes cancer diagnoses based on clinical exams due to these delays.

Other patients face similar challenges at the hospital. Ifrah Ahmed is 10 years old and suffers from osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. She is from Babanusa in West Kordofan, where the health care system has broken down.

Ahmed traveled to Mother of Mercy Hospital by rickshaw with her grandmother. Catena administered two doses of chemotherapy to her, and she had her leg amputated at the hip at the hospital.

Abasst Abonja was 76 years old and suffered from colon cancer. He and his family came from South Sudan. Abonja spent two weeks in Mother of Mercy Hospital.

He was unable to eat for his last four days in the hospital. Abonja died the day STAT visited the hospital.

Staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital administered some 15 doses of chemotherapy in a single day earlier this year. Chemotherapy medication and other essential drugs are hard to come by in Sudan due to disrupted supply chains. "They’re indirect casualties of war," Catena said.

The broader conflict has devastated medical infrastructure. Both sides in the Sudan conflict have been accused of indiscriminately targeting hospitals and health clinics. There have been 205 attacks on health care facilities in Sudan since the start of the war, according to reports Organization reports that some 37% of Sudan’s health care centers have been destroyed by fighting. Attacks on civilian doctors, clinics, and ambulances are frequent in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization.

Doctors Without Borders stated that international aid cuts are "forcing the collapse of an already fragile health care system." Two rival factions are clashing for control of Sudan’s military. The Rapid Support Forces announced an alliance with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North last year. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North is a rebel group that controls the Nuba Mountains. The Nuba Mountains have become a staging ground for RSF militants attempting to fight their way back to Khartoum, which is held by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The humanitarian scale of the crisis is vast. Some 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan, according to the United Nations. The United Nations identifies Sudan as currently having the world’s largest displacement crisis.

There are no recent numbers available for cancer deaths in Sudan. The WHO recorded 560,000 deaths from cancer across Africa in 2022. A paper published in 2025 in the journal Global Oncology stated that Sudan was once a regional leader in cancer care.

Why It Matters

Cancer patients in Sudan face a collapsed health care system during a civil war that has displaced millions. With no oncologists in the Nuba Mountains and the nearest specialized care hundreds of miles away across active frontlines, patients like Fatouma Mahdi Ahmed Saeed must undertake dangerous journeys for basic treatment. The destruction of 37% of health care centers and frequent attacks on medical facilities have left populations without access to timely diagnosis or care.

The situation represents a reversal of previous progress, as Sudan was once a regional leader in cancer care. International aid cuts and disrupted supply chains further limit the availability of chemotherapy and essential drugs. The hospital staff view these patients as indirect casualties of the war, showing how conflict extends beyond immediate violence to dismantle the infrastructure necessary for survival.

Timeline

On May 28, 2017, Catena was awarded the second annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, receiving a $100,000 grant and an additional one million dollars for him to distribute to three humanitarian organizations. Sudan’s civil war began in 2023.

Fatouma Mahdi Ahmed Saeed was diagnosed with cancer last year by a private doctor in Nyala. Fatouma Mahdi Ahmed Saeed traveled from Darfur to South Sudan last year in search of care.

What's New

Thomas Gerard Catena is an American physician who has been practising in Gidel in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan since 2008.