October 9, Diling — There is a severe lack of available healthcare for pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as newborn babies, in the city of Diling, South Kordofan,
A volunteer at the women’s emergency room, Azhar Adam Dahiya, told Darfur24 there has been a significant increase in the rates of abortions and deaths due to unsafe childbirth. Many women are allegedly giving birth at home without medical supervision because they are unable to pay hospital fees.
The emergency room was established to quickly intervene in the situation. The Mother Bakhita Maternity Hospital is experiencing a shortage of medical equipment, and has no anesthesia, which has had dire impacts for women in the area.
Aznar said that the women’s emergency room currently aims to provide assistance to 40 women, with the hope of increasing this number in the coming days. Two public kitchens have also been launched to provide food in the neighborhood west of the city and the Jang neighborhood, which includes refugees from South Sudan. She said that malnutrition among children is also an urgent issue and many are dying after consuming poisonous herbs.