Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41792191›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

A multi-state cross-sectional assessment of essential medicine availability in Sudan during armed conflict.

Nahid Osman Ahmed, Ahmad Mohammad Al Zamel, Salma Gafar Ahmed, Sahar Elsadigh Musa, Marwa Muklis Hassab Allah, Sara Mustafa Alshami, Thoyba Ali, Menna Allah Adil Abd Almajeed, Niema Abdalazem Mohamed Elhassan, Mohamed Alhashmi and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Nahid Osman AhmedFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Ahmad Mohammad Al ZamelAl-Neelain University, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8796-6403
Salma Gafar AhmedFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Sahar Elsadigh MusaFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Marwa Muklis Hassab AllahFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Sara Mustafa AlshamiFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Thoyba AliFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Menna Allah Adil Abd AlmajeedFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Niema Abdalazem Mohamed ElhassanFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Mohamed AlhashmiFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.
Lamya Bashir EisaHospital Pharmacy, Faculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University, Khartoum, Sudan.
Abdulkader ShaarAl-Neelain University, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2961-7501
Samah Elnour KhalifaClinical Pharmacy Department, Al-Rayan National College of Health Sciences and Nursing, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Huiam AbdalgaderFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan. huiamaldabi@gmail.com.
Ali Awadallah SaeedFaculty of Clinical and Industrial Pharmacy, National University-Sudan, Mycetoma Research Center, P.O. Box 11111, Khartoum, 12217, Sudan.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3524-4825

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The armed conflict that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 has severely disrupted the country’s healthcare system, affecting hospitals, community pharmacies, and essential health services, including pharmaceutical supply chains. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the persistent armed conflict in Sudan on the accessibility of essential medications in community pharmacies within designated states. It aims to pinpoint critical factors influencing medicine supply, assess availability across regions, and investigate the strategies employed by pharmacists to ensure access to essential medications. This study examines geographic variation, pharmacy type, and barriers to medicine access to enhance humanitarian planning, national policy responses, and pharmaceutical resilience strategies in prolonged crisis contexts. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between December 2024 and May 2025 using the WHO/HAI methodology. The WHO/HAI methodology is a standardized, international survey method developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International (HAI) to measure the price, availability, and affordability of essential medicines in both public and private sectors. Data were collected from 118 public and private community pharmacies across Aljazeera, Northern, White Nile, and Red Sea states. Availability of 50 essential medicines was recorded through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA were used to analyze differences by pharmacy type and location. Overall, 95.8% of pharmacies reported disrupted access to medicines, and 98.3% reported significant price increases. Chronic disease medications such as insulin (11.0%), diazepam (15.3%), and captopril (26.3%) were among the most unavailable. Public pharmacies showed significantly higher average availability than private ones (p = .04), while Northern State reported higher availability than Aljazeera and Red Sea states (p < .001). Essential medicine availability in Sudan has been critically undermined by the conflict, with chronic disease treatments disproportionately affected. These findings highlight the urgent need for secure pharmaceutical supply corridors, support for local production, and coordinated humanitarian efforts to restore medicine access in conflict-affected areas.

Indexed as

Armed ConflictsDrugs, EssentialHealth Services AccessibilityCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPharmaciesSudanDrugs, Essential

Identifiers

PMID41792191
PMCPMC13079822

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.