The war in Sudan has triggered one of the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. An unprecedented 5 million people are on the brink of famine, and an estimated 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are facing acute malnutrition, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous health complications during and after pregnancy – and impacting the survival and development chances of the next generation of Sudan’s children. 

The health-care system has not been spared by the fighting. Close to 80 percent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are no longer functioning, with facilities destroyed, looted or struggling with staff shortages and an acute lack of essential medicines and supplies. The health facilities that remain operational are overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced, straining the country’s health system to its very limits. Most women and girls in areas affected by conflict have no access to the reproductive health and protection services they desperately need.

Harrowing levels of violence, including rape, kidnappings, and forced and child marriage have taken an unacceptable toll on women and girls, creating an environment of fear for those with little recourse to services, support or justice. 

UNFPA is working with partners to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services in areas with high numbers of internally displaced people. This includes deploying mobile teams and supplies to build capacity for maternal health, including emergency obstetric care, and for the clinical management of rape, as well as for supporting safe spaces.
 

Updated on 11 June 2024