While Aid Retreats From Sudan's Collapsing Health System, One Newborn Care Program Is Scaling Up

Another shipment of Embrace infant warmers is being built into Sudan's national health system, even as funding cuts force other health programs to withdraw

MURRIETA, CA, UNITED STATES, August 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As international health agencies pull back from Sudan under mounting funding pressure, Embrace Global and the Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA) are moving in the opposite direction. The two organizations have delivered a second shipment of more than 300 Embrace Nest infant warmers to Sudan, bringing warmth and hope during this unprecedented time. Now the thermal care protocol behind them has now been built directly into the country's national health reporting system.

The retreat is real. The UN Population Fund has withdrawn from more than half of the 93 health facilities it was supporting due to funding cuts. Medical shipments for hundreds of thousands of people remain stranded in Dubai after disruption to the world's largest humanitarian supply hub. Across Sudan, more than 30 million people need humanitarian assistance, and the health system meant to reach them continues to shrink.

Against that backdrop, our program is expanding. The first shipment of 300 Embrace Nest warmers arrived in Sudan in September 2025, with training completed the following month and distribution reaching 55 health facilities across five states. Working in close coordination with the Federal Ministry of Health, 161 high-burden hospitals have been identified for deployment nationwide, and this second shipment moves the program toward a shared goal of 966 warmers reaching every public health facility in the country. These devices will reach tens of thousands of babies for years to come.

An initial utilization report covering four states, Gezira, Gadarif, Sennar, and Kassala, found that ~80% of neonates treated with the Embrace Nest returned to their mothers with normal body temperature, without ever needing NICU admission.

What sets this program apart is not just that it kept moving. Thermal care protocols using the Embrace Nest have now been integrated into Sudan's DHIS2 national health reporting system and into the national training manual for newborn care. That means the program is no longer dependent on the continued presence of any single outside organization. It has become part of how Sudan's own health system tracks and trains for newborn care, a distinction that matters enormously as international support elsewhere continues to erode.

“When international attention moves on, the systems you have actually built into a country are what remain,” said Melody Westen, CEO of Embrace Global. “The Sudanese MOH and SAPA didn't wait for the crisis to stabilize. They built a government-coordinated, evidence-based program in the middle of it, and now it's part of the national system, not dependent on any one organization staying in the room. That is what durable and sustainable looks like.”

"Sudan's health system is under enormous strain, but our physicians and health workers have not stopped showing up for mothers and newborns. This partnership with Embrace Global gives them a tool that works through conflict and uncertainty. Together, we are helping to save lives across Sudan.", said Tasneem Abdalla , Project Manager, SAPA.

A third and final shipment, completing the full 966-unit deployment, is planned for later in 2026. Embrace and SAPA will continue working with the Federal Ministry of Health to expand DHIS2 reporting and training coverage as the program scales to additional states.

About Embrace Global
Embrace Global is a nonprofit delivering life-saving warmth to vulnerable newborns in fragile
health systems across more than 30 countries. Premature and low birth weight babies cannot
regulate their own body temperature, and hypothermia remains a leading, preventable
contributor to newborn death and disability worldwide Embrace does not donate devices. It
builds solutions, combining equipment, training, and partnership, all three required, to prevent
neonatal hypothermia and strengthen health systems from the inside. Since its founding,
Embrace has helped more than 1.4 million babies. Its goal is to reach 5 million babies a year by
2035. Learn more at https://www.embraceglobal.org.

About the Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA)
SAPA is a membership-based scientific, professional, and humanitarian organization founded in
2019 that unites Sudanese physicians and medical professionals in the United States to advance
medical education, expand equitable access to healthcare, and deliver humanitarian aid in Sudan
and beyond. Learn more at https://sapa-usa.org/.

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