“We had to watch two of the babies die before our eyes,” said Dr. Hasan Babikir, who described the death of premature triplets that he was unable to treat due to a lack of intensive care beds.
As tens of thousands of people, many in urgent need of health care, flee the violence engulfing South Kordofan, health workers at El-Obeid Maternity Hospital in neighboring North Kordofan describe the harsh conditions.
Lack
“There is a severe shortage of surgical and normal delivery equipment, as well as essential items such as antibiotics, surgical sutures and gloves,” said Dr. Babikir to the United Nations Agency for Sexual and Reproductive Health, UNFPA.
“This forces us to buy them from the market at very high prices.”
The Maternity Hospital is the only referral hospital in Western Sudan and currently serves over 230,000 displaced people, most of them women and girls, who face sexual violence, hunger and an almost total lack of health care.
The city of El-Obeid has also been subject to frequent drone attacks, with several attacks on health facilities killing and injuring health workers and patients.
A growing maternal health crisis
“Previously, the hospital did not have a neonatal intensive care unit,” said Dr. Babikir. “At the beginning of 2026, we opened one with only four beds, which is constantly occupied, and we urgently need to expand the capacity.”
The increasingly burdensome conditions drive up maternal mortality, he warned. “We have lost patients due to longer wait times. Although there are two emergency operating rooms, they are currently out of service.”
“In many cases, emergency patients arrive while all rooms are occupied, sometimes resulting in the loss of the mother or fetus.”
Newborns’ lives are also at risk, “we don’t have tables to place newborns on, nor do we have enough infection control equipment in the delivery rooms,” said midwife Laila Sarfo.
To combat these challenges, UNFPA has installed a solar energy system to help mitigate power outages at the maternity hospital, rehabilitated delivery rooms and trained and deployed skilled health workers to assist with emergency obstetric and neonatal services.
Healthcare workers under pressure
“The wages we receive are not enough to cover even basic transport or the meals we need during our shifts,” explained Insaf, a senior midwife.
“Many times women arrive without the means to purchase essential delivery materials and we find ourselves paying for these items out of our own pockets,” added Insaf.
Still, she and her colleagues are determined to keep providing care, “some midwives working 24-hour shifts to meet the overwhelming demand,” Insaf said.
‘Women are exhausted by the war’
Nearly three years of civil war have pushed more than 33 million people in Sudan into dire need of humanitarian aid.
The conflict has been marked by horrific sexual violence, kidnappings and child marriages, with survivors struggling to access safe spaces or health care.
In the overcrowded Al Moaskar Al Mwahhad displacement camp in South Kordofan, UNFPA runs a mobile health clinic and safe haven for women and girls who are survivors or at risk of abuse.
“Women are exhausted from the war,” said Salma, 50, who has been sheltering in the camp for eight months now.
“Many crimes have been committed against women, including rape. Many women have become widows. In this camp, the number of women who are still with their husbands can be counted on one hand,” she added.
For girls, the crisis affects almost every part of their lives and their future, “We traveled by donkey for three days and after those trucks brought us here,” 16-year-old Ismailia told UNFPA.
“I hope to return to my town and my school. Please allow us to rebuild our home and return.”
To continue supporting women and girls in 2026, UNFPA urgently requires $129 million, of which only $33 million has been pledged so far.
