London / Sudan - August 2026: 

Ethar Relief is proud to partner with the Sudanese Association of Vascular Surgeons (SudAVaS) in support of a major vascular surgery mission taking place in Sudan from 24–31 October 2026.

Led clinically by SudAVaS and supported by Ethar Relief alongside surgeons, medical professionals, donors and other partners, the mission represents the next stage of an ongoing Sudanese-led effort to provide essential vascular care and strengthen specialist surgical capacity within the country.

Around 20 vascular surgeons, including Sudanese specialists returning to serve communities in their homeland, are expected to participate. Over the course of the week, the team aims to assess 300-400 patients and undertake approximately 70-80 surgical procedures, ranging from minor interventions to complex vascular operations.

Alongside treating patients, a central objective of the mission is to strengthen surgical training and specialist capacity for surgeons and surgical trainees in Sudan. Through practical training, knowledge exchange and continued professional development, the mission aims to leave behind expertise that can support vascular care long after the visiting team has departed.

Responding to a Critical Need  

Sudan has historically had access to vascular surgical services delivered by dedicated Sudanese clinicians and medical teams. However, specialist provision has remained limited, and the ongoing conflict has severely damaged the country’s already stretched healthcare infrastructure.

For patients living with conditions such as diabetic limb complications, failed dialysis access and serious vascular disease, access to specialist treatment can be extremely difficult. In some cases, patients may need treatment outside Sudan — an option that is financially or practically impossible for many families affected by displacement and conflict.

The October mission seeks not only to provide urgently needed treatment, but to contribute towards the longer-term strengthening of sustainable vascular surgical capacity inside Sudan.

Building on an Ongoing Sudanese-Led Effort  

This mission builds upon previous vascular missions and the longstanding work of Sudanese surgeons and medical professionals.

In January 2026, SudAVaS delivered a vascular mission in Port Sudan, carrying out 64 procedures and more than 600 diagnostic tests. The October mission represents the next stage of this work and the continued commitment of Sudanese vascular surgeons to strengthen specialist healthcare within their country.

SudAVaS members have already mobilised significant resources for the upcoming mission, including vascular consumable kits valued at more than £100,000. Specialist endovascular equipment and other essential resources have also been secured through contributions and donations from multiple sources.

The mission is therefore a genuinely collective effort — bringing together Sudanese medical leadership, international surgical expertise, humanitarian support, donors and partners around a shared objective.

Ethar Relief: Supporting Sudanese-Led Healthcare  

For more than two decades, Ethar Relief has worked alongside communities affected by poverty, displacement and humanitarian crises in Sudan and across the wider region.

Its work in Sudan has included emergency response, food assistance, shelter, education and women’s empowerment. Through its partnership with SudAVaS, Ethar Relief is extending that commitment into specialist healthcare.

For the October mission, Ethar Relief will support fundraising, mobilisation, logistics and mission delivery, helping to secure resources and coordinate elements including travel, equipment transportation and operational planning.

Ethar Relief will also work alongside SudAVaS to raise international awareness of the need for specialist medical services in Sudan and mobilise supporters around both the immediate mission and its longer-term ambitions.

The partnership is founded on an important principle: Sudanese clinicians should be supported and empowered to lead the development of sustainable specialist healthcare within Sudan.

SudAVaS brings clinical leadership, specialist expertise, local relationships, patient knowledge and an understanding of Sudan’s healthcare system. Ethar Relief brings its humanitarian infrastructure, fundraising reach, logistical capacity and more than two decades of experience supporting Sudanese communities.

Together, these strengths can help turn individual medical missions into something longer lasting.

Investing in the People Behind Sudan’s Healthcare  

Strengthening healthcare requires more than equipment and individual surgical missions. It also requires investment in the people responsible for maintaining the systems, technology and infrastructure on which modern healthcare depends.

As part of its contribution to longer-term capacity building, Ethar Relief will fund biomedical engineering training for three participants, with a total value of £5,400.

The online biomedical engineering courses will be delivered through Medical Aid International/Academy and will include professional toolkits, textbooks and workplace attire. Participants will also receive support throughout their training and as they apply their learning within the hospital environment.

By developing biomedical engineering capability alongside clinical and surgical expertise, the initiative aims to help ensure that specialist medical equipment can be properly supported, maintained and used over the longer term.

It is another part of the wider ambition behind the partnership: not simply bringing resources into Sudan, but helping develop the local knowledge and capability needed to sustain them.

Beyond One Week of Surgery  

Although hundreds of patients are expected to benefit directly from the October mission, its ambition extends far beyond the number of operations completed during the week.

A major focus will be on strengthening specialist vascular surgical training for Sudanese surgeons and surgical trainees, creating opportunities for practical learning, professional exchange and knowledge transfer between participating specialists.

This approach recognises that sustainable healthcare cannot depend indefinitely on visiting missions.

By combining surgery with specialist training, equipment mobilisation, biomedical engineering development and continued professional collaboration, SudAVaS and its partners aim to strengthen the foundations for vascular surgical services that can increasingly be delivered and sustained from within Sudan.

For Ethar Relief, this longer-term approach is particularly important. Humanitarian intervention should respond to immediate need while, wherever possible, helping communities and local professionals build the capacity to shape their own future.

This is not simply about delivering a week of surgery. It is about supporting Sudanese medical professionals with the skills, resources and partnerships needed to build something that can endure long after the mission ends.

A Partnership Built on Collaboration  

The October mission demonstrates what can be achieved when Sudanese expertise is matched with collective support.

Every surgeon giving their time, every healthcare professional contributing expertise, every organisation providing equipment, every donor contributing resources and every trainee developing specialist skills forms part of the same effort.

Ethar Relief is honoured to stand alongside SudAVaS and the wider network of individuals and organisations making the mission possible.

For communities that have endured years of conflict and disruption, access to specialist healthcare is not a luxury. It can mean saving a limb, maintaining access to life-sustaining dialysis, preventing disability or saving a life.

This October, that collective effort will reach hundreds of patients while helping strengthen the expertise and infrastructure needed to serve many more in the future.

Mission at a Glance  

Dates: 24–31 October 2026
Location: Ahmed Gasim Hospital, Khartoum (Plan A); Port Sudan (Plan B)
Clinical Lead: Sudanese Association of Vascular Surgeons (SudAVaS)
Partner & Sponsor: Ethar Relief
Surgeons: Approximately 20 vascular surgeons
Patients: 300–400 expected consultations
Operations: Approximately 70–80 procedures, ranging from minor to complex
Clinical Training: Specialist surgical training and capacity building for Sudanese surgeons and surgical trainees

Biomedical Engineering Training: Three participants supported through online biomedical engineering courses, professional toolkits, textbooks, workplace attire and ongoing support — funded by Ethar Relief at a total value of £5,400 and delivered through Medical Aid International/Academy
Previous SudAVaS Mission: Port Sudan, January 2026 — 64 procedures and 600+ diagnostic tests

A Call to Stand With Sudan’s Medical Professionals  

Ethar Relief is calling on its supporters, partners and the wider public to stand behind this Sudanese-led mission.

Donations will help support the mobilisation and delivery of the October mission and contribute towards providing specialist vascular care to people who may otherwise have little or no access to treatment.

But the ambition goes further than one mission.

It is about supporting Sudanese surgeons and healthcare professionals with the equipment, specialist training and infrastructure they need to continue treating patients in their own communities.

Sudanese medical professionals are leading the way. Together, we can help give them the resources and support to reach more patients, strengthen specialist expertise and build a more sustainable future for vascular care in Sudan.

ENDS

About Ethar Relief  

Ethar Relief is an international humanitarian organisation with more than 20 years of experience supporting refugees, displaced people and vulnerable communities affected by poverty, conflict and humanitarian emergencies. Its work includes emergency response, food security, shelter, education, healthcare and sustainable development, with a longstanding commitment to the people of Sudan and the wider East Africa region.

About SudAVaS  

The Sudanese Association of Vascular Surgeons (SudAVaS) brings together Sudanese vascular surgeons committed to advancing vascular surgical care, professional collaboration, medical education and specialist capacity within Sudan. SudAVaS leads the clinical direction of the October vascular mission, working with Ethar Relief and a wider network of medical professionals, donors and supporters to expand access to specialist vascular treatment.

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