United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says hospitals in Sudan’s East Darfur and North Kordofan states are buckling under repeated drone attacks, leaving medical services paralysed and putting women and children at severe risk.
Doctors and health workers, cited by UNFPA, report critical gaps in life-saving care as displacement rises and humanitarian needs deepen across both regions.
In East Darfur’s city of Al-Daein, the main teaching hospital has been forced out of service after a drone strike, leaving residents with severely limited access to treatment. Basic services have since been shifted to the Arab Primary Care Centre, now the only facility providing reproductive and newborn care in the state.
The situation is equally strained in North Kordofan, where El Obeid Maternity Hospital is struggling to cope with more than 230,000 displaced people, the majority of them women and girls.
Frequent power cuts, rising fuel costs and shortages of medical supplies are further crippling operations, with only four of seven operating theatres currently functional.
Medical staff describe harrowing cases, including premature triplets who could not all be accommodated due to a lack of beds, resulting in two deaths.
Despite the conditions, healthcare workers continue to provide care, as aid agencies warn that urgent intervention is needed to prevent further loss of life.
