Stories
September 16, 2026 • 2 min read
For years, families in and around Gancy struggled to get healthcare, particularly during the rainy season when roads became almost impossible to travel. What began as a community effort to provide basic care has grown into a permanent Primary Health Centre serving thousands of people. With support from GOAL, the European Union and local health authorities, Gancy now brings essential healthcare closer to the people who need it most.
For families living around Gancy area in Sudan, accessing healthcare once meant a long and difficult journey. People living more than five kilometres from the nearest service faced poor roads, limited transport and rising difficulties during the rainy season, when heavy mud could make roads impassable.
Mothers with young children, older people and those needing urgent care were particularly affected. So, the community decided to act.
With no nearby health service, residents came together to establish Gancy Health Facility on the edge of Abujibeha town. They contributed what they could, and the first patients were treated in a rented house while the community worked towards a permanent solution.
The Locality Health Department later recognised Gancy as a Basic Health Unit and deployed health workers. Yet important gaps remained, including shortages of medicines, equipment and trained staff. For families with limited incomes, the cost and difficulty of travelling for care remained a major barrier.
Turning a community effort into lasting care
GOAL, through its European Union-funded Health System Strengthening Programme in Sudan, partnered with the Locality Health Department and the community to transform Gancy into a permanent health facility.
The community provided land, labour and materials, while the Locality Health Department provided technical oversight. GOAL supported construction, essential equipment and capacity building for health workers.
Today, the facility provides consultations, medicines, reproductive health services, nutrition support and immunisation closer to where people live. A Community Health Committee also helps connect the facility with residents and local authorities.
Health workers have received training in areas including immunisation, nutrition screening, medicine management and support for mothers and survivors of gender-based violence. These investments have helped strengthen both the quality and availability of care.
For community representatives, the change has been deeply personal.
“We were overjoyed when we heard that GOAL would construct our health facility. We felt relieved because we had suffered greatly accessing medical services for children, women and older people.” Said Musa Bahama Bafuta.
A health service the community can own
Since GOAL’s intervention began in July 2024, Gancy Health Facility has served 14,163 people. Under the wider HealthPro-2 project, 13,435 people within Gancy’s catchment area have accessed services, contributing to a programme reaching more than 213,000 people across three regions.
But the impact is about more than numbers. People can now receive care closer to home, reducing the time, cost and difficulty of travelling for essential services. The community continues to support the facility through volunteers, security and local participation, while the Locality Health Department manages staffing, medicines and technical oversight.
There are still challenges. Residents want reliable electricity and water, better roads during the rainy season and more qualified medical professionals. Yet Gancy has already demonstrated what can happen when a community’s determination is matched with local leadership and sustained support.
What started in a rented house is now a permanent health centre and a reminder that bringing healthcare closer to people can begin with something as simple as a community deciding that waiting is no longer an option.
