As the war in Sudan enters its second year, women and girls continue to pay a high price. Millions have been driven from their homes, and now the country is facing the worst levels of food insecurity ever recorded. Around 8.5 million people are on the verge of famine, including an estimated 203,000 pregnant women. Some 755,000 people, including 18,000 pregnant women, are already in famine conditions. 

The ongoing war has stripped women and girls of everything they need to survive – food, medical support and shelter. Close to 80 percent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are no longer functioning, with facilities destroyed, looted or struggling with staff shortages and an acute lack of essential medicines and supplies. The health facilities that remain operational are overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced, straining the country’s health system to its very limits. Most women and girls in areas affected by conflict have no access to the reproductive health and protection services they desperately need.

Harrowing levels of violence, including rape, kidnappings and forced and child marriage, continue to take an unacceptable toll on women and girls, creating an environment of fear for those with little recourse to services, support or justice. 

UNFPA is working with partners to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services in areas with high numbers of internally displaced people. This includes deploying mobile teams and supplies to build capacity for maternal health, including emergency obstetric care, and for the clinical management of rape, as well as supporting safe spaces.
 

Updated on 1 July 2024