Sudan: Dr. Halima Ali shares 2026 Human Rights and Nursing Award

She shared the award with Prof. Josephine Etowa of the School of Nursing at the University of Ottawa, Canada. The recognition was announced on August 28.

Dr. Halima, who is 60, was honoured “for her exceptional courage and commitment to providing free palliative care during the Sudan conflict.”

The Human Rights and Nursing Award recognizes nurses whose work promotes international respect for human rights, human dignity, and compassionate care for vulnerable populations.

The award ceremony took place during the Nursing Ethics and International Ethics in Care Conference, organized by the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Regina, Canada, in collaboration with the international Editorial Board of the journal Nursing Ethics.

Due to the complex procedures and difficulties involved in travelling to Canada, Dr. Halima was unable to attend the ceremony in person and participated online, receiving the award remotely.

The recognition highlights her extraordinary commitment to providing compassionate, free-of-charge palliative care to patients living with terminal and chronic illnesses in Wad Madani, Sennar and Port Sudan.

She has continued this work despite the extreme dangers, displacement and disruption caused by the war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023.

Under Dr. Halima’s leadership, the Comboni College of Science and Technology trained 200 palliative care volunteers in Port Sudan in 2024 alone and introduced 261 health professionals to palliative care.

Her dedication to caring for patients in some of the most challenging circumstances of the conflict is an outstanding example of the nursing profession's commitment to human dignity, human rights and the right to compassionate care—even in times of war and crisis.

Father Jorge Naranjo, MCCJ