Sepsis and malnutrition stalk the new mothers and babies of South Darfur

CAIRO (AP) — Mothers and children in the Sudanese region of South Darfur are experiencing one of the “worst” health emergencies in the world, humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday, one of the consequences of the violence that has engulfed the country since April 2023.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, said in its latest report that 114 maternal deaths occurred during the period from January to mid-August 2024.

More than 50% of maternal deaths happened in medical settings, with sepsis being the most common cause of death in MSF-supported facilities. Between January and June, 48 newborns died from sepsis at two MSF-backed medical facilities, the organization said.

Malnutrition among children in South Darfur also exceeded emergency thresholds, the group said, adding that demands for medical attention “far exceed what MSF can respond to.”

Sudan has been engulfed by violence since April of last year, when tensions between leaders of the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted into intense fighting and spread across the country, including to Darfur. The amount of critical aid reaching South Darfur rose slightly in June, when the U.N. World Food Program delivered life-saving food and nutrition to some families.

In August, 30,000 children under the age of two were screened for malnutrition, including nearly 33% who are acutely malnourished and 8.1% who are severely and acutely malnourished, MSF said Tuesday.

“This is a crisis unlike any other I have seen in my career — multiple health emergencies happening simultaneously with almost no international response from the UN and others,” said Dr. Gillian Burkhardt, MSF sexual and reproductive health activity manager, in Nyala, South Darfur. “Newborn babies, pregnant women, and new mothers are dying in shocking numbers. So many deaths are due to preventable conditions, as almost everything has broken down.”

The situation was particularly dire for women at Nyala Teaching Hospital and Kas Rural Hospital, where MSF reported 46 maternal deaths between January and August. In those two hospitals, 78% of maternal deaths happened within the first 24 hours after admission.

Women would often arrive at hospitals in critical condition due to high transportation costs and a shortage in functioning medical facilities, said MSF. The women were forced to give birth in unsterilized environments due to the lack of much-needed medical resources that could prevent infections.

“A pregnant patient from a rural area waited two days to collect the money needed to get care,” said Maria Fix, MSF medical team leader in South Darfur. “When she traveled to a health center, they had no drugs so she went back home. After three days, her condition deteriorated, but again she had to wait five hours for transportation. She was already in a coma when she reached us. She died from a preventable infection.”

Most humanitarian organizations haven’t returned to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, since the war broke out, leaving MSF as one of the few international groups there on the ground.