Sudan: Over 2,000 pregnant women have fled el-Fasher

The United Nations has estimated that more than 2,000 pregnant women have fled el-Fasher since late October, reported by AP News, on November 18.

Fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has intensified across Darfur and neighbouring regions. The two groups have been embroiled in a devastating civil war since April 2023, after a long-simmering power struggle turned violent.

One of those fleeing is Nadra Mohamed Ahmed, who left el-Fasher while seven months pregnant and caring for two children. She walked roughly 40 kilometres along insecure roads before managing to get transport to a shelter elsewhere in Sudan.

The ultimate risk in doing this kind of journey while heavily pregnant can cause serious health problems, with Ahmed explaining that “by the time I arrived here (al-Dabbah), I had lost a lot of blood.” She went on to say, “I was admitted to the ICU, where I spent a few days and had a blood transfusion.”

Ahmed is one of many, as over 140 pregnant women have arrived at al-Dabbah camps since el-Fasher’s fall in October, said Tasneem Al-Amin from the Sudan doctors network.

By late 2024, reports indicated that nearly 300,000 pregnant women had been displaced. Around 80 percent of Sudan’s health facilities were either closed or barely functioning, leaving most women without access to maternal care.

A displaced mother who was nine months pregnant at the time of her statement, Sabreen Abdulrahman said, “After I give birth, I worry about the cold weather and not having a proper place to put my baby. We don’t have a home, we sleep outside, on the floor.”

The U.N. women’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, Anna Mutavati, told reporters that Sudanese women are forced to give birth on the streets.

Doctors without Borders (MSF) also spoke on the matter and said pregnant women from the region undertake a “harrowing journey”.

The conflict has caused many women to become displaced, with reports of the RSF storming the last functioning healthcare facility in el-Fasher, killing up to 460 patients and their companions. This follows reports of deliberate attacks carried out by the RSF also killed 8 people on a maternity ward in the city of el-Fasher.