Sudan: Armed clashes are putting women and girls at risk
The conflict in Sudan is taking a devastating toll on women and girls.
The situation in Khartoum and across the country is dire. Since the fighting began on 15 April at least 28 hospitals, including maternity hospitals in Khartoum, and all hospitals in Geneina and Nyala in the Darfurs, have been attacked. In the capital Khartoum, more than half of health facilities have been forced to close. Thousands of women and girls – including an estimated 219,000 pregnant women in Khartoum alone – have been left struggling to access life-saving reproductive health services, including maternal and newborn care and protection services.
Critical medicines, including essentials for the management of obstetric emergencies, are running dangerously low. North, East, West and Central Darfur states have only enough supplies to treat the leading causes of maternal death until the end of May. Doctors, nurses and community midwives are unable to travel to work because of roadblocks and ongoing fighting.
As fighting continues, thousands have fled their homes, within Sudan and to neighbouring countries – Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic. Protection risks, including gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, for women and girls on the move or in temporary settlement sites are exacerbated at a time when access to protection services and support is severely compromised.
UNFPA is committed to staying and supporting women and girls in Sudan and is working in close coordination with partners to mobilize and deliver essential reproductive health services and supplies, including for obstetric emergencies, the clinical management of rape and gender-based violence prevention and response. In neighbouring countries, UNFPA will focus on scaling up and strengthening the provision of maternal health and protection services to meet the needs of displaced women and girls.
Photo by Amanuel Sileshi / AFP via Getty Images
