“When I was four years old, my friend—she was my neighbor—passed away because she was not vaccinated,” Dr. Selma Saadeldeen explains. “It was painful. I remember I cried and refused food for two days. And it stuck with me—what she died from was preventable. But the vaccinations were very far from where we lived. Accessible healthcare can mean the difference between life and death.”
Dr. Saadeldeen radiates warmth, compassion, strength and profound dedication to her work. She was born and grew up in Sudan—a beautiful, vibrant, resilient country that has been plagued by conflict and instability—where she grew up as the oldest of five children. Her father served in the Sudanese military, while her mother cared for the home and family. They moved often, sometimes living with grandparents.
“One of the greatest blessings in my life was spending part of my childhood with my grandparents,” she says. “They lived to be nearly 100. I loved sitting beside them and listening to their stories. They taught me patience, kindness, perseverance and the importance of helping others. Long before I became a doctor, they taught me how to be a good human being.”
When she was 16, she finished her studies in Sudan and knew she wanted to bring healthcare to people who needed it in her country. So she decided to become a doctor. “One word from a good doctor can bring hope when medicine alone cannot,” she says.
Because she had a cousin who had studied medicine in Ukraine, she applied to the same program and was accepted. She moved to Ukraine to study at Odesa State Medical University in a seven-year program, which included one year of Russian studies before she began medical school.
“For the first time, I was surrounded by people from many different cultures and backgrounds,” says Dr. Saadeldeen. “Learning to appreciate those differences and connect with people from different cultures helped prepare me for my humanitarian career.”
After graduating from medical school in June 2004, she returned to Sudan and began her first job as a doctor—working in obstetrics and gynecology at a hospital near Khartoum—while living at home with her parents and younger siblings. Over the next decade, Dr. Saadeldeen worked in several hospitals in the city, with her work touching nearly every aspect of medicine: trauma care, intensive care, internal medicine, pediatrics, dialysis, maternal healthcare and surgery. Though she saw countless patients, some cases stayed with her long after the patient was discharged.
“I will never forget a 9-year-old boy who arrived with a hand that had turned black from gangrene,” says Dr. Saadeldeen. “After a fracture, a traditional healer had tried to treat him—but the bandaging cut off the blood supply. By the time he reached us, it was too late to save his hand. He eventually required an amputation. It was a heartbreaking reminder that where a person lives can determine whether they receive the treatment they need in time.”
In 2014, Dr. Saadeldeen joined International Medical Corps, working as a doctor in Central Darfur. When she arrived, she was one of the only female health workers in the area.
“Many doctors came and left after only a few weeks,” she says. “Women in the community needed a female doctor they could trust and communicate with, because of cultural and religious considerations. I accepted the position knowing there was a tremendous need.”
Dr. Saadeldeen spent the next few years strengthening local health facilities, building a team of healthcare workers and delivering training sessions to improve the quality of care. The experience reinforced her belief that lasting improvements in healthcare begin with investing in people and local capacity.
Eventually, she was promoted to Medical Coordinator. Though based in Zalingei, a city in western Sudan and the capital of Central Darfur, she traveled frequently to manage International Medical Corps’ health services across the country.
Then, in April 2023, conflict spiraled into civil war. Clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum, quickly spreading to other areas, with air strikes and street fighting in cities throughout Darfur—including Zalingei.
After their office in Zalingei was looted and partially burned, Dr. Saadeldeen and her team moved to the nearby town of Hamedia and established a clinic there. It was relatively safe, though initially there was no reliable internet or communication network.
“In Hamedia, our midwives provided delivery and prenatal care around the clock, helping save the lives of mothers and newborns,” she explains. “At a time when so many services had disappeared, we remained one of the only organizations providing vaccinations for children.”
Then the conflict escalated further. “In June of 2023, I spent several days alone in my house surrounded by fighting,” explains Dr. Saadeldeen. “It was too dangerous for me to leave. I even wrote a note to my colleagues because I thought I might not survive.”
On the fifth day, a pregnant woman, helped by a friend, knocked on her door in the middle of the night. Many hospitals had closed, including Zalingei Teaching Hospital, where the woman and her companion had first gone when she went into labor. They then traveled by donkey cart to Hamedia, reaching Dr. Saadeldeen’s house at 4:15 a.m. The woman desperately wanted a cesarean section. She was terrified she would lose her life and her unborn twins.
“I examined her while she was still in the cart, as moving her immediately wasn’t practical or safe,” explains Dr. Saadeldeen. “She was in advanced labor. Her cervix was already well dilated. At that point, a C-section was no longer a safe or realistic option. Together, we made our way to our clinic through the darkness, moving quietly past armed soldiers. Once we got there, I reassured her and played music to calm her fears. Along with two of our midwives, I helped her through her labor. Less than 30 minutes after the first baby was born, the second arrived. When I heard those babies cry, I forgot my own thirst, hunger and exhaustion. In that moment, I felt that if saving her life meant losing mine afterward, it would still have been worth it.”
Dr. Saadeldeen stayed with the woman and her newborns to ensure they were stable. Then she walked back to her house carefully, moving behind trees because fighting was still ongoing. She followed up with the mother through postnatal visits when possible, and about two months later, the woman’s husband brought the twins to the clinic for their routine vaccinations. Later, Dr. Saadeldeen learned that the family had moved to Uganda.
When it was safe enough to travel, Dr. Saadeldeen also left the area—moving to Port Sudan, where International Medical Corps had relocated its country headquarters.
“I never considered myself a hero,” she says, reflecting on that treacherous time. “I was simply doing my job as a doctor. Even during conflict, women still give birth, children still need vaccines and patients still need treatment. I try to do the best I can for the people who need help.”
In November 2025, Dr. Saadeldeen was deployed to Golo, the capital of North Darfur state, to help establish International Medical Corps’ fifth mobile health and nutrition team in the region. Thousands of displaced people had recently arrived from the besieged city of El Fasher, and the needs were overwhelming. Working alongside hospital staff and mobile health teams, she helped coordinate care for families arriving with little more than hope for safety.
“Many families arrived after long and difficult journeys,” she says. “We saw children who had missed vaccinations, pregnant women who had not received antenatal care and patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension who had been without treatment for months. Malnutrition, mental health needs and emergency referrals were also major concerns.”
Today, Dr. Saadeldeen is back in Zalingei, where she provides technical oversight and guidance to International Medical Corps-supported health facilities, hospitals and mobile health teams across the country. She also works closely with Sudan’s Ministry of Health and other partners, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
“Leadership is not only about coordination and decisionmaking. It is also about supporting teams, listening to communities, solving problems and helping health workers provide the best possible care under difficult circumstances,” she says. “Ultimately, my responsibility is to support both the health system and the people working in it, so families can access safe, timely and dignified healthcare.”
From the childhood experience that first showed her the cost of inaccessible care to her work today supporting families displaced by conflict, her journey reflects a lifelong commitment to bringing compassionate, lifesaving healthcare to people across Sudan.
“Sudan is much more than the headlines people read,” says Dr. Saadeldeen. “Behind every crisis are people with dreams, families, hopes and incredible strength. I have seen mothers walk for hours carrying sick children because they refuse to give up on them. I have seen neighbors share food, water and kindness—even when they have very little themselves. That is the Sudan I know. At International Medical Corps, we are honored to stand beside these communities.”
Learn more about International Medical Corps’ history in Sudan and the work we are doing today.