OMDURMAN — Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jamal Eltaeb received the $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity in recognition of his work keeping Al Nao hospital in Omdurman, Sudan, operating through repeated bombardment. Eltaeb led the facility as control of the area shifted between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and he gave portions of the prize money to medical and humanitarian groups around the world.

Eltaeb's previous hospital closed shortly after the war began in April 2023, and he moved to Al Nao. By July 2023, most staff had fled as the front line moved closer and the facility overflowed with patients, leaving him in charge. Before the war, the hospital had nearly 100 beds and was often quiet, with beds empty much of the time.

In August 2023, one month after he took charge, the hospital was hit for the first time. The Rapid Support Forces struck the facility three more times after the initial attack, and a window strike killed a relative of a patient. Electricity was out for weeks, forcing the hospital to rely on army-supplied fuel for generators, and medicines such as antibiotics and painkillers ran out.

"I weighed the options of staying here and taking care of your patients and helping other people that need you as a skilled surgeon, rather than choose your own safety," Eltaeb said. Remaining staff made beds and crutches out of wood and used clothing instead of gauze for makeshift splints.

In late 2024, a strike at a nearby market wounded over 100 people who were brought to Al Nao, and eight of them died. Eltaeb used local anesthetic to amputate the arm and leg of a 9-year-old boy and the leg of his 11-year-old sister because of heavy bleeding and a lack of time to transport them to an operating room. During the peak of the conflict, multiple tents were erected in the hospital courtyard to accommodate mass casualties; only one remained at the time of a recent visit.

"We were working everywhere, in tents, outside, on the floor, doing everything to save patients' lives," he said.

Sudan's army retook the capital of Khartoum, and fighting has shifted away from the area, leaving Al Nao as one of the only functioning health centers nearby. The United Nations warned that Sudan's health system is near collapse, and nearly 40% of the country's hospitals no longer function. The hospital has enough funding until June to pay salaries and keep generators running but will need about $40,000 per month to continue operating.

"I believe I did my best as a doctor as a Sudanese," Eltaeb said.