Volunteers rebuild Sudan's oldest psychiatric hospital destroyed by war

"Once a cheerful civil engineering student at the University of Sudan, Muaz had become withdrawn, sullen, and prone to sudden outbursts due to an addiction to ice, a methamphetamine variant that has spread rapidly across Sudan since the war began."

"Amid the drastic humanitarian crisis that unfolded in the country since, and the near complete absence of medical care as hospitals were targeted and healthcare workers were driven into displacement, Muaz and other patients suffering psychiatric problems received no care."

"We heard the hospital had reopened and launched an initiative for war patients, people with trauma and addiction. Since November, we have been coming every two weeks. The treatment is free, and I can feel my son is improving a little."

Rafeeda Abubakr and her family fled Khartoum during Sudan's civil war in April 2023, relocating to al-Duwaym in White Nile State. During displacement, their 21-year-old son Muaz, formerly a cheerful civil engineering student, developed a severe addiction to ice, a methamphetamine variant spreading rapidly across Sudan. The addiction caused him to become withdrawn, sullen, and prone to outbursts. With hospitals destroyed and healthcare systems collapsed during the conflict, Muaz received no psychiatric care. Upon returning to Khartoum when conditions stabilized, Rafeeda found treatment at Al-Tijani Al-Mahi Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases, which reopened and launched a free initiative for war patients, trauma victims, and those with addiction. Attending treatment every two weeks since November, Rafeeda reports gradual improvement in her son's condition.

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