Port Sudan, Sudan - Recent

The conflict in Sudan has brought the country's health system to a standstill, with pregnant and nursing mothers facing the most formidable health threat.

Twenty-five-year-old Huda Dawood is nine months pregnant. She fled Sinja in Central Sudan to Port Sudan two months ago, to get medical care and ensure the safe delivery of her child.

"As a pregnant woman, safety and health care is a priority. Pregnant women need good nutrition as well for herself and the baby, this is why I left when RSF took over Sinja and crossed all of this distance to Port Sudan. The situation isn't ideal here but better than conflict zones where we don't have any operating hospitals," said Dawood.

Dawood is one of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese women facing the harsh realities of war.

According to the United Nations, over 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women lack healthcare, facing poor living conditions and malnutrition, endangering their lives and their children's.

The unsafe roads have complicated access to healthcare facilities, forcing many Sudanese women to resort to home births and traditional midwives.

"The number of women who came to us is higher than before, they can't afford high costs of hospitals and also came from regions faraway in a very vulnerable situation, most of the pregnant women I see are displaced and malnourished, they need more care and attention as well as the newborns," said Dahia Mohamed, a midwife.

Experts estimate a 15-percent-increase in the maternal mortality rate during births in the wake of the military confrontations, as 80 percent of the country's hospitals and health centers being non-operational.

"The extension of the conflict to wider regions has not only contributed to the destruction of health system, it has also contributed to the loss of crucial data regarding women. There is lack of sexual health, maternity care, and the medical care for the chronic diseases women are suffering. Those issues need different interventions and operations that are overwhelming the fragile health system," said Suliyma Ishag, director of Combating Violence Against Women and Children Unit.

Amidst soaring mortality rates, over 500,000 women remain missing, unaccounted for due to absent records and families' hesitance to report cases.

Shotlist:
Port Sudan, Sudan - Recent:
1. Various of pregnant woman Huda Dawood walking into tent, sitting on bed;
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic dubbed in English) Huda Dawood, displaced expectant mother:
"As a pregnant woman, safety and health care is a priority. Pregnant women need good nutrition as well for herself and the baby, this is why I left when RSF took over Sinja and crossed all of this distance to Port Sudan. The situation isn't ideal here but better than conflict zones where we don't have any operating hospitals.";
3. Various of Dawood talking to medical worker;
4. Various of medical worker arranging supplies;
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic dubbed in English) Dahia Mohamed, midwife:
"The number of women who came to us is higher than before, they can't afford high costs of hospitals and also came from regions faraway in a very vulnerable situation, most of the pregnant women I see are displaced and malnourished, they need more care and attention as well as the newborns.";
6. Various of medical worker adjusting infusion bag;
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic dubbed in English) Suliyma Ishag, director, Combating Violence Against Women and Children Unit:
"The extension of the conflict to wider regions has not only contributed to the destruction of health system, it has also contributed to the loss of crucial data regarding women. There's lack of sexual health, maternity care, and the medical care for the chronic diseases women are suffering. Those issues need different interventions and operations that overwhelming the fragile health system.";
8. Various of women, children.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya TV/Middle East Broadcasting Center]