‘We watched them die before our eyes’: Sudan health workers helpless amid medical shortages

This article is published in association with United Nations.

As violence forces tens of thousands to flee Sudan’s South Kordofan state, doctors in a key maternity hospital are facing impossible choices – with too few supplies, too many patients, and lives slipping away.

“We had to watch two of the babies die before our eyes,” said Dr. Hasan Babikir, describing the death of premature triplets he was unable to treat due to a lack of intensive care beds.

As tens of thousands of people, many in urgent need of healthcare, flee the violence engulfing South Kordofan, health workers at the El-Obeid Maternity Hospital in neighbouring North Kordofan describe dire conditions. 

Shortages

“There’s a severe shortage of surgical and normal delivery equipment, as well as essentials such as antibiotics, surgical sutures and gloves,” Dr. Babikir told the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, 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 facing sexual violence, hunger and a near total lack of healthcare. 

The city of El-Obeid has also come under frequent drone attacks, with multiple attacks against health facilities that have killed and injured health workers and patients.

A growing maternal health crisis 

“Previously, the hospital didn’t have a neonatal intensive care unit,” said Dr. Babikir. “At the beginning of 2026, we opened one with only four beds, which are constantly occupied, and we urgently need to expand capacity.”

The increasingly fraught conditions are driving up maternal death rates, he warned. “We have lost patients due to prolonged waiting 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 in danger too, “we don’t have tables to place newborns on, nor do we have adequate infection control equipment in the delivery rooms,” said midwife Laila Sarfo. 

To combat these challenges, UNFPA has installed a solar power 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.

© UNFPA/Sufian Abdulmouty

Health workers under pressure 

“The salaries we receive are not enough to cover even basic transportation or the meals we need during our shifts,” explained Insaf, a senior midwife. 

“Many times, women arrive without the means to purchase essential delivery supplies, and we find ourselves paying for these items out of our own pockets,” added Insaf. 

Yet she and her colleagues are determined to keep delivering care, “some midwives are working 24-hour shifts to meet the overwhelming demand,” said Insaf.

‘Women are exhausted from the war’ 

Nearly three years of civil war have pushed more than 33 million people in Sudan into severe need of humanitarian aid. 

The conflict has been marked by horrific sexual violence, kidnappings and child marriage, with survivors struggling to access any safe spaces or healthcare. 

In the crowded Al Moaskar Al Mwahhad displacement camp in South Kordofan, UNFPA operates a mobile health clinic and a safe space 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 at the camp for eight months now. 

“Many crimes have been committed against women, including rape. Many women have been widowed. 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 is impacting almost every part of their lives and their futures, “We travelled 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 go back.” 

To continue supporting women and girls in 2026, UNFPA is urgently calling for $129 million, of which just $33 million has so far been pledged.

© UNICEF