In Sudan’s South Darfur, pregnant women, mothers, and newborns are dying at an alarming rate, while thousands of malnourished children face starvation, according to a report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Wednesday. The health crisis, described as one of the world’s worst, is a direct result of the ongoing conflict between military factions that erupted in April last year.
MSF warned that “the situation in South Darfur is a glimpse of the devastating impact likely unfolding in other war-ravaged and isolated areas of Sudan.”
Between January and August, MSF recorded 46 maternal deaths at two South Darfur hospitals it supports, along with 48 newborn deaths from sepsis between January and June.
In August, screenings revealed that around one-third of children under two were acutely malnourished, more than twice the World Health Organisation’s emergency threshold, with over 8% suffering from severe acute malnutrition—a leading cause of death.
Dr. Gillian Burkhardt, an MSF s3xual and reproductive health manager in South Darfur, emphasised the crisis, stating that newborns, pregnant women, and new mothers are dying at alarming rates.
The report highlighted that ongoing conflict and displacement are pushing women to give birth in unsafe, unsanitary environments without access to proper healthcare or medicine.
Crisis, Displacement, Famine
South Darfur is home to the largest displaced population in Sudan, according to the International Agency for Migration.
Nyala, the state capital and Sudan’s second-largest city, was once a humanitarian hub, but most aid organisations have since departed. The RSF took control of the city in October.
MSF urged the United Nations to “act decisively to prevent further loss of life in Darfur.”
The U.N., which hosted a ministerial meeting with key donors and regional powers on Wednesday to discuss the “cost of inaction” in Sudan, cited underfunding, insecurity, and limited access as obstacles to aid efforts.
The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary RSF has displaced over 10 million people, ravaged the capital, and fueled waves of ethnically-driven violence in Darfur.
A global hunger monitor confirmed famine in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp for displaced people, warning that 13 other locations in Sudan are also at risk of famine.
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