Maternal deaths soar, missing women uncounted amid Sudan’s conflict

October 14, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Maternal mortality rates in Sudan are skyrocketing, with many deaths going unrecorded amid the ongoing conflict, a government official said on Monday, as concerns rise over the number of women who have disappeared.

Salma Ishaq, director of the Combating Violence Against Women and Children Unit, told Sudan Tribune that the collapse of the healthcare system has left pregnant women particularly vulnerable.

“Unsafe roads make it difficult for mothers and pregnant women to access healthcare, leading to numerous problems and increased fatalities,” Ishaq said.

Experts estimate that the maternal mortality rate for births in the wake of the conflict could reach 15%, a grim consequence of the closure of over 80% of the country’s hospitals and health centres. This has forced many women to rely on home births and traditional midwives.

Adding to the crisis, Ishaq said that reports of over 500,000 missing women remain unverified due to a lack of official records and the reluctance of families to report cases.

“There is no official report, and families are refusing to speak out for various reasons,” she said.

The comments come as Mohamed Ismat, the head of the Unified Unionist Party, warns that the situation in Sudan is deteriorating.

“The war is raging every day with ongoing aerial bombardments that target civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as artillery shelling,” Ismat told Sudan Tribune. “All of this is accompanied by rising voices of hatred and racism, threatening the unity of the country.”

The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has triggered a major humanitarian crisis.

The UN has reported that over 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are facing malnutrition, putting their lives and the lives of their children at risk. Economic experts estimate that the Sudanese economy has shrunk by approximately 45%, with dwindling revenues exacerbating the crisis.