“We had to watch two of the babies die before our eyes,” said Dr. Hasan Babikir, describing the deaths of premature triplets he was unable to treat due to a lack of intensive care beds.
As tens of thousands of people, many with urgent health care needs, flee the violence gripping South Kordofan, health workers at El-Obeid Maternity Hospital in neighboring North Kordofan describe dire conditions.
Shortage
“There is a serious shortage of normal surgical and delivery equipment, as well as essential items such as antibiotics, surgical sutures and gloves,” Dr Babikir told the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA.
“This forces us to buy them on the market at very high prices.”
The maternity hospital is the only referral hospital in western Sudan and currently cares for more than 230,000 displaced people, most of them women and girls facing sexual violence, hunger and an almost complete lack of medical care.
The city of El-Obeid has also been the target of frequent drone attacks, with multiple attacks on health facilities killing and injuring health workers and patients.
A growing maternal health crisis
“Before, the hospital did not have a neonatal intensive care unit,” Dr. Babikir said. “At the beginning of 2026 we opened one with only four beds, which is constantly busy and we urgently need to expand capacity.”
Increasingly difficult conditions are driving up maternal mortality rates, he warned. “We have lost patients due to long waiting times. Although there are two emergency operating rooms, they are currently out of service.”
“In many cases, emergency patients arrive when all rooms are occupied, sometimes resulting in the loss of the mother or fetus.”
The lives of newborns are also in danger: “we do not have tables to place newborns on or adequate infection control equipment in the delivery rooms,” said midwife Laila Sarfo.
To combat these challenges, UNFPA installed a solar energy system to help mitigate power outages at the maternity hospital, rehabilitated delivery rooms, and trained and deployed qualified health workers to assist with emergency obstetric and neonatal services.
Health workers under pressure
“The salaries we receive are not enough to cover even the basic transportation or meals we need during our shifts,” explained Insaf, a senior midwife.
“Many times, women arrive without the means to purchase essential birth supplies and we find ourselves paying for those items out of our own pockets,” Insaf added.
However, she and her colleagues are determined to continue providing care: “some midwives are working 24-hour shifts to meet the overwhelming demand,” Insaf said.
“Women are exhausted by 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 marriage, with survivors struggling to access safe spaces or healthcare.
In the crowded Al Moaskar Al Mwahhad displaced persons camp in South Kordofan, UNFPA runs a mobile health clinic and safe space for women and girls who are survivors of or at risk of abuse.
“The women are exhausted by the war,” said Salma, 50, who has been sheltering in the camp for eight months.
“Many crimes have been committed against women, including rape. Many women have been widowed. In this field, the number of women who are still with their husbands can be counted on one hand,” she added.
For girls, the crisis is affecting almost every aspect of their lives and future. “We traveled by donkey for three days and then those trucks brought us here,” Ismailia, 16, told UNFPA.
“I hope to return to my city and my school. Let us rebuild our house and return.”
To continue supporting women and girls in 2026, UNFPA urgently requests $129 million, of which only $33 million has been pledged so far.
