{"id":20118562,"date":"2025-07-17T18:34:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20118562"},"modified":"2025-07-17T18:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:40:04","slug":"sudan-media-forum-displaced-mothers-face-rising-miscarriages-as-conflict-collapses-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/sudan-media-forum-displaced-mothers-face-rising-miscarriages-as-conflict-collapses-healthcare","title":{"rendered":"Sudan Media Forum: \u2018Displaced mothers face rising miscarriages as conflict collapses healthcare\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sudan Media Forum<\/a> – Joint Editorial Room<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compiled by Siddig El Dukhri of Mashaweer News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pregnant women and mothers fleeing conflict in South and West Kordofan are facing catastrophic health conditions, with alarming rates of miscarriages, malnutrition, and death reported along displacement routes and in overwhelmed hospitals, according to testimonies gathered by\u00a0Mashaweer News<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Kordofan\u2019s southern regions have been transformed into a warzone, triggering successive waves of mass displacement. Women and children have borne the brunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those fleeing travel on foot for three to four nights, with little food, water, or access to shelter. \u201cHundreds of displaced women are suffering severely,\u201d said Safiya El Obeid, a resident of En Nuhoud in West Kordofan. \u201cThere are several deaths recorded among women due to malnutrition, poisoning, dengue fever and typhoid, along with complications of childbirth and abortions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Obeid described the scale of collapse in the healthcare system after RSF forces took control of her city. \u201cThe situation worsened in an unprecedented way after the invasion of the Rapid Support Forces. The health sector collapsed due to looting and the displacement of medical cadres,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter a month, the health situation in En Nuhoud became catastrophic and tragic. The majority of hospitals stopped working, there was a shortage of medical aids and medicines, and no means to save the lives of pregnant women, especially those with kidney failure and diabetes. There are no safe corridors or ambulances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Obeid added that chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes are now prevalent among pregnant women, who are also more exposed to strokes. \u201cThere is a shortage of medical aids, medicines and health staff, which led to the appearance of diseases in pregnant women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Miscarriage on the road\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nawal El Naim fled with her family from the town of El Fula in West Kordofan. \u201cWe suffered both matters in the journey of displacement,\u201d she said. \u201cWe took a carriage through the villages, then moved by lorry until we reached Abu Haraz, and from there to El Obeid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She described a harrowing journey. \u201cMost women in neighbouring villages suffer from chronic diseases. Sometimes we hear women crying, and we can\u2019t help them. It\u2019s heartbreaking and painful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Naim said five women suffered miscarriages during the trip from El Fula to El Obeid due to the absence of health care. \u201cNursing mothers are also among those most affected by the war. During the journey of displacement they were subjected to several troubles before reaching hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018A painful reality\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A displaced man, not identified for security reasons, recounted driving his pregnant wife from El Ahmar, a locality west of Dibebad in South Kordofan, to the town of Abu Zabad in West Kordofan in search of emergency care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, armed men in RSF uniform stopped them near the village of Awlad Younis. \u201cThey asked us to leave the car and hand over the keys. When they learned my wife was sick, they let us go but only after we replaced our car with a rickshaw at our own expense. They seized our car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His wife\u2019s condition deteriorated en route. \u201cShe suffered severely from pain and distance. When we reached Abu Zabad and entered the hospital, the doctors decided to perform an abortion and blood transfusion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWomen and girls stuck in conflict zones are living a painful reality, facing death due to the collapse of the health system and the depletion of medicines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I was the sixth abortion case that day\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another displaced woman, Wisal Mohamed El Sharif, fled from Dibebad, following the SAF\u2019s recapture of the region from RSF forces. \u201cAfter the increasing violations, our fears of murder, rape and sexual violence increased, so we decided to head to El Obeid,\u201d she told\u00a0Mashaweer News.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t find transport and had to walk for four hours. I arrived exhausted, breathless. The road was full of people fleeing the conflict. Eventually, we found a car that took us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the hospital, El Sharif learned her baby no longer had a pulse. \u201cThey said I needed an urgent abortion to stop the bleeding and save my life. I was the sixth abortion case that day. The doctor told me the miscarriage was caused by exhaustion and fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical experts warn of \u2018worsening toll\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Mubarak El Zubair, a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, says the war has had a devastating impact on women across Kordofan. \u201cThey are subjected to violations, and the lack of health care has contributed to the increase in abortions due to fear and panic caused by artillery and airstrikes, as well as psychological trauma, frequent displacement and malnutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe scarcity of medicine, vitamins, and nutritional supplements, especially those needed in the first trimester, and the absence of necessary vaccinations have led to repeated abortions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Zubair explained that the physical strain of displacement alone can be lethal. \u201cDisplacement trips force women to walk long distances with luggage. These factors can cause direct bleeding, high blood pressure, and in some cases, placental separation, resulting in miscarriage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sudan Media Forum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Sudan Media Forum<\/a>, in collaboration with\u00a0Mashaweer News<\/em>\u00a0and other member institutions, calls for urgent humanitarian intervention in the region to address the rising number of miscarriages and maternal deaths among displaced women.<\/p>\n