UN fund warns of worsening suffering for Sudanese women as war continues

June 4, 2026 (PEN) The United Nations Population Fund warned of the worsening suffering of women in Sudan as the war continues, stressing that they continue to "carry their country on their shoulders," at a time when thousands of displaced people have returned to Khartoum despite it turning into what it described as a "ghost town."

Andrew Saperton, the United Nations Population Fund’s Deputy Executive Director for Management, told reporters from Cairo to the United Nations headquarters in Geneva last Tuesday that the health system in Sudan is under enormous pressure, noting that a maternity ward in a camp in eastern Chad receives 30 cases a day in deteriorating conditions, often without anesthesia, following his visit to Sudan and Chad.

Saperton noted the contribution of the United Nations Population Fund in rehabilitating the Midwives Hospital in Khartoum, making it one of the largest maternity hospitals in Africa, with a capacity exceeding 50 cases per day, and for the first time free of charge with government support.

He warned that protection services had received only 20% of the required funding, while health services had received only 14%, which could force the fund to further reduce its support and services if urgent funding is not provided.

Saperton considered achieving a sustainable ceasefire to be the starting point for any recovery process in Sudan.