An estimated 2.7 million women of reproductive age displaced in Sudan

An estimated 2.7 million women of reproductive age are displaced in Sudan according to data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), including more than 272,000 pregnant women of whom around 91,000 will give birth in the next three months.

Nearly 20 months of war has pushed the country to the edge, as some areas in greatest need remain cut off entirely, with no access to humanitarian aid. Over 12 million people are displaced, more than eight million within Sudan and more than three million to neighbouring countries.

Sudan was already enduring years of humanitarian crisis, but the war has unleashed an intensified humanitarian catastrophe of immense scale, particularly for women and children, according to UNFPA. Millions are displaced, facing hunger, disease, and violence.

Every day, on average, 20,000 people are newly displaced and among them are pregnant women fleeing for their lives and unable to access antenatal, safe delivery or postnatal services because up to 80% of health facilities are either closed or barely functioning in crisis-affected areas. As a result, women are dying from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications.

“After I give birth, I worry about the cold weather and not having a proper place to put my baby. We don’t have a home, we sleep outside, on the floor,” says Sabreen Abdulrahman, a displaced mother of three who is nine-months pregnant with her fourth child.

The UN says nearly 1.5 million people across Sudan either face famine or are at risk of famine, including an estimated 35,800 pregnant women.