Newborns in Sudan face danger as conflict rages
More than 4,000 babies born each day in Sudan are at serious risk as the country deals with the devastating impact of an 18-month-long conflict.
Women, girls and children have been the most impacted by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.
According to the United Nations, over 6.7 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence while an estimated 24 million Sudanese children face threats as a result of the war.
The country's healthcare services have been severely disrupted and malnutrition is on the rise. 80% of hospitals in conflict-affected areas have been closed, limiting access to essential health services. Local news reports indicate that medical staff, supplies and infrastructure are also in short supply.
More than 100 healthcare facilities including the only maternity hospital in El Fasher, North Dafur and the largest referral maternity hospital in Khartoum have been attacked since the conflict began.
The attacks have worsened Sudan's already high maternal mortality rates, which have surged since the violence erupted.
Babies born to malnourished mothers are facing increased risks, such as fetal growth restrictions, leading to poorer health outcomes and higher neonatal death rates.
Save the Children's Interim Country Director for Sudan, Mohamed Abdiladif, has called for urgent international aid to address the crisis. He stressed the need for increased funding for the health system, an immediate ceasefire and efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement.
Background
Millions of people have been forced to flee their homes after a civil war broke in Sudan between two major rival factions of the military government of Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies in April 2023.
More than 12 million Sudanese people have been displaced.
The United Nations has described it as the largest displacement crisis in the world.
