Pregnant women in Sudan's conflict-affected regions are facing life-threatening delays in accessing essential maternal healthcare, according to humanitarian reports.
In the Central Darfur town of Golo, the only hospital equipped for Caesarean sections serves a vast mountainous area. Many expectant mothers travel on foot or crude wooden stretchers for hours while in labour, often arriving too late to save themselves or their babies.
Healthcare challenges in Golo
- Limited medical supplies, including anaesthetics, hamper the hospital's capacity.
- Post-surgery, women must return to remote villages by foot, risking further complications.
- Mobile clinics and decentralized reproductive health services are urgently needed to reach vulnerable communities.
Similarly, Tawila displacement camp, home to over 700,000 displaced people, is a critical yet hard-to-reach center for maternal care. Women from surrounding areas, including Golo, undertake arduous journeys by donkey or foot to seek emergency obstetric services. Medical staff report frequent cases arriving beyond the point of effective intervention.
Shortages and displacement exacerbate risks
- Oxytocin, vital for preventing fatal childbirth bleeding, is in short supply across Darfur.
- The ongoing war between Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and Armed Forces has displaced hundreds of thousands, stretching humanitarian resources thin.
- Community midwives, often under-equipped and underpaid, provide essential care but require greater support.
Humanitarian agencies emphasize the need to expand mobile health services and strengthen local midwifery to reduce maternal and infant mortality amid the conflict.
