Under fire and gunfire, Ezraa shot his newborn son. When war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, she was trying to get to a health clinic for treatment for her baby, who was battling an infection and breathing problems. But since the roads were blocked by the fighting, the young mother did not reach the clinic; his son died in his arms.
When she became pregnant again in August last year, she was haunted by the fear of losing another child. “There is only one functioning maternity hospital left in Khartoum,” Esraa said. “It’s very dangerous around town – one of our neighbors died on the way to the hospital.”
Throughout the war, Esraa and his family were forced to move frequently as areas that were safe one day turned deadly the next. They eventually found refuge in a shelter crowded with other displaced people from Khartoum.
‘It was like going from one grave to another’
Once the largest city in Sudan, Khartoum now has large urban-like areas. In the shelters set up for people forced from their homes, conditions are dire: overcrowding is rampant and basic hygiene items are severely lacking. Food is also becoming more scarce, leaving many people struggling with severe hunger as Sudan faces its worst food shortages on record.
As the crisis worsens and diseases such as polio and cholera spread, access to health care has become one of the most pressing challenges for the people of Khartoum. Many medical facilities have been forced out of business due to damage and severe shortages of equipment.
Esraa says: “I was five months pregnant when I arrived at the shelter. For me, it was like going from one grave to another. We were always expecting something bad to happen. Hope had no place in our hearts.”
Midwives and other health professionals at Khartoum Maternity Hospital, Sudan.
Amazingly responsive
Amidst this dire situation, a mobile health team supported by UNFPA arrived at the settlement to provide reproductive health and protection services to the women and girls living there. . “Mobile health teams play an important role in preventing maternal mortality, providing more medical services in war-affected areas of Sudan,” explained Mohamed Hasan Nahat, the team’s coordinator.
Esraa received prenatal care and micronutrients from the group, who visited regularly to care for her along with other women and girls in the shelter. He said: “They not only helped me with medical care but also gave me a sense of security and hope that I had after many months of not feeling.
Four months later, Esraa gave birth to a healthy baby boy, with the help of the mobile team. “I gave birth in a shelter. They took care of me and the baby – I even named him Mohamed after the doctor who helped me.
UNFPA has deployed 56 health teams across 11 countries in Sudan, providing sexual and reproductive health services and protection and response to gender-based violence. Since the start of the war, teams – including doctors, pharmacists, lab technicians, psychologists and midwives – have conducted more than 150,000 medical consultations.
Midwives and other health professionals at Khartoum Maternity Hospital, Sudan.
While saving lives and providing the only medical assistance that many have received, humanitarians such as social worker Nisreen Kamal Abdulla felt that there was still more to do. who want to do for you this nation.
“The time in the clinic was not enough to treat everyone – we need to visit each community more often to reach more people and provide consistent care,” he told UNFPA. “Most of the women we met with mental health problems stopped their treatment because they couldn’t afford the medicine.”
Reaching distant nations
Group mobility is essential for increasing access to essential services in remote areas, preventing maternal deaths due to unsafe delivery and high-risk pregnancies. Lack of transport often means that many cannot get to a health center on time – or at all.
On average, the team will work in three different areas per week, spending one to two days in each area, depending on the size of the community and its needs.
“Although I never left Khartoum during the war and continued to work in its hospitals, this experience was different,” explained Dr. Nahat.
“I reached far places and connected with people I could not reach before. It was a great encouragement for them to know that there are organizations that care about them and don’t leave them behind.”
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