Health Crisis in South Darfur: Mothers and Newborns at Risk
Mothers and children in Sudan’s South Darfur region are facing one of the world’s “worst” health emergencies, according to humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders on Tuesday (September 24).
This is one of the results of the conflict that has gripped the country since April 2023.
Doctors Without Borders, better known as MSF, reported 114 maternal fatalities between January and mid-August 2024.
Over half of maternal deaths occurred in medical settings, with sepsis the leading cause of death in MSF-supported hospitals.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that happens when the body’s immune system has an extreme response to an infection, causing organ dysfunction.
It can be prevented.
Between January and June, 48 newborns died from sepsis at two MSF-backed medical facilities.
In August, 30,000 children under the age of two were screened for malnutrition, including nearly 33% who are acutely malnourished and 8.1% who are severely and acutely malnourished, MSF said Tuesday.
“This is a crisis unlike any other I have seen in my career — multiple health emergencies happening simultaneously with almost no international response from the UN and others,” said Dr. Gillian Burkhardt, MSF sexual and reproductive health activity manager, in Nyala, South Darfur. “Newborn babies, pregnant women, and new mothers are dying in shocking numbers. So many deaths are due to preventable conditions, as almost everything has broken down.”
Women at Nyala Teaching Hospital and Kas Rural Hospital faced particularly terrible conditions, with MSF reporting 46 maternity deaths between January and August. In the two institutions, 78% of maternal deaths occurred during the first 24 hours of admission.
Most humanitarian organizations have not returned to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur and Sudan’s second largest city outside of Khartoum.
Sources: UNFPA
