On November 7, 2025, the humanitarian world paused to honor an extraordinary act of courage and compassion. Dr. Jamal Eltaeb, an orthopedic surgeon and the head of Al Nao Hospital in Omdurman, Sudan, was named the 2025 Aurora Prize Laureate and awarded $1 million for his unwavering commitment to saving lives amid the relentless violence of Sudan’s ongoing civil war. The recognition, announced at the Aurora Prize Ceremony on Ellis Island—a location steeped in the symbolism of refuge and renewal—marks a decade of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative’s efforts to spotlight grassroots heroes who risk everything for others.
Dr. Eltaeb’s story is not just one of medical expertise, but of resilience and hope in the face of near-total devastation. Since the outbreak of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023, when paramilitary groups and government forces turned the country into a battlefield, the toll has been staggering. According to NPR, over 150,000 people have been killed, and more than 12 million have been displaced. The United Nations has called Sudan’s conflict the most devastating humanitarian crisis in the world today. In the midst of this chaos, Dr. Eltaeb has kept Al Nao Hospital operating as one of the last functioning referral hospitals in greater Khartoum, providing a lifeline to hundreds of wounded, displaced, and critically ill patients.
“Growing up, I saw how fragile life can be and how much difference one person’s care and knowledge can make. I wanted to be a doctor because I wanted to serve people in their most vulnerable moments,” Dr. Eltaeb reflected during the ceremony, as reported by PR Newswire. His words echo the sentiment that drives so many humanitarians to persevere, even when the odds seem insurmountable. “The Aurora Prize encourages doctors, teachers, humanitarians, and ordinary people everywhere to keep going, knowing that their effort matters. It is a reminder that one person’s courage can inspire change and that compassion has the power to heal. Even the smallest act of kindness can bring hope.”
But the conditions under which Dr. Eltaeb and his colleagues work are almost unimaginable. “Providing care with almost nothing is one of the hardest things that any person can ever do,” Dr. Eltaeb told NPR in a recent interview. “And every day we work in impossible conditions with barely enough to keep people alive. And we run out of medicines, supplies, clean water, electricity. Even the simplest medical tools. But we learn how to improvise, to stay calm in chaos and to make something out of nothing. Sometimes, a single bandage, maybe a few tablets or even just holding patients’ hands and talking to him [is] all we have to offer. But it means a lot—for the patients and for us.”
The violence in Sudan, as Dr. Eltaeb describes, is not just collateral damage. “The situation remains devastating but what hurts the most is the silence. Some media [outlets] have published reports on Sudan, but it is not enough. We need more attention, maybe more coverage and more outreach. The world needs to know that this country is still bleeding. And we have to be honest, this war is not comparable to what’s happening in any other conflict in the world. Usually [in] such war and conflict, the stated goal is to destroy certain organizations and maybe infrastructure. The death of civilians is often collateral damage. But here in Sudan, we, the civilians, are the target. The purpose is to erase entire groups of people. In our country, entire communities are being wiped out, families displaced. People are being killed simply because of who they are.”
Dr. Eltaeb’s leadership at Al Nao Hospital has not gone unnoticed. Under his guidance, the hospital has become a symbol of resilience, solidarity, and unwavering dedication to saving lives. His team, he says, are “heroes that stood beside us. They came to the hospital knowing that their lives are on the line. The air is filled with fear. And yet they stay. They provide medical care to their patients. They stay because they know if they don’t, more people will die. It is just simple like that.”
The Aurora Prize, created to honor individuals who risk their lives to save others, is more than just a financial award. As Lord Ara Darzi, Chair of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee, noted during the ceremony, “In the face of unimaginable danger and deprivation, Dr. Eltaeb has shown what true humanitarian leadership looks like. Aurora is honored to support his mission and to spotlight the resilience of those enduring conflict. Dr. Eltaeb’s selflessness reminds us that even amid war, humanity can prevail.”
This year’s ceremony also recognized other outstanding humanitarians—Sally Becker, Dr. Zouhair Lahna, and Dr. Jill Seaman—as well as philanthropists Henrietta H. Fore, Graça Machel, Michael Milken, and David Rubenstein, all of whom embody Aurora’s core value of ‘Gratitude in Action.’ The initiative itself, founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, has supported over 3.5 million people affected by humanitarian crises over the past decade, according to the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative’s own records.
For Dr. Eltaeb, the recognition is both a personal and collective affirmation. “It was my duty to my country and to my people,” he told NPR. “People need somebody to stay there for them.” Winning the prize, he says, is “a symbol of hope. It gives people the [feeling that] you are not alone, you are not forgotten.”
Yet, amid the accolades, Dr. Eltaeb remains keenly focused on the ongoing suffering in Sudan. “The level of violence and what’s going on during this war is unimaginable. I never thought that such things I could face in my entire working life and it was truly traumatizing, especially [the] number of children and women that have been tortured, traumatized or left in shock is actually impossible to count. What’s going on now in El Fasher with the same brutality is not just a conflict, it is some sort of a genocide.”
He also questions the accuracy of official death estimates, suggesting that “the true toll is likely far higher. Entire towns have been emptied, families torn apart and generations destroyed.” Still, he finds strength in the resilience of his fellow Sudanese. “There are days when the suffering feels too heavy to carry, when you wonder if what you are doing will ever be enough. But then you’ll see a wounded patient begin to heal. You hear a child taking a breath. And I think at that moment, you feel an internal strength to continue working. In the heart of destruction, surrounded by loss, I see strength that can never be fully described. I see mothers who have lost everything still breaking a piece of bread to share with a stranger. I see children smiling through hunger and pain, creating light in places where there is none. I see doctors, nurses, my colleagues, my friends and volunteers working through exhaustion and fear [with] only their heart and only their courage.”
“[The Sudanese people] have taught us that hope is not something we wait for. It is something we build with our hands. Even in the darkest time. Every act of care, every heartbeat that continues, is an act of defiance. It is a way of saying to the world: We are still here and our lives matter and the lives of [the] Sudanese matter. And as long as Sudan is still breathing, as long as one child, one mother, I keep serving because this is not just about survival. It is about dignity. It’s about humanity. And it is about hope that refuses to die.”
As the world’s attention shifts from crisis to crisis, the story of Dr. Jamal Eltaeb and the Sudanese people stands as a powerful reminder: even in the darkest places, humanity endures, and sometimes, one person’s courage can light the way for many.