It is estimated that about 4,000 babies are born on average every day in Sudan, which has entered its 18th month of conflict.

Over 2 million babies are estimated to have been born in 18 months of devastating conflict in Sudan, all at risk from a decimated healthcare system and crisis levels of hunger, according to new analysis by Save the Children.

The estimate is based on recent UN data indicating about 1.3 million babies will be born in Sudan in 2024, along with a Save the Children estimate for the first year of the conflict. [1]. It is estimated that about 4,000 babies are born on average every day in Sudan which has a population of about 50 million.

The increasingly violent conflict, that started on 15 April last year, has made the delivery of healthcare – including reproductive and newborn care – increasingly challenging, putting mothers and children at risk of complications that could have lifelong and even fatal consequences.

Up to 80% of hospitals in the worst-affected areas have closed [2] and two out of three people do not have access to essential health services, according to the ICRC. [3] Medical staff, supplies, safe water, and electricity are in short supply and medical personnel, facilities, transport and supplies are coming under attack.

The first 28 days of a child’s life – the neonatal, or newborn period – is the most dangerous, and carries the highest risk of death. It is also the most dangerous period for the newborn’s mother. Even before the war that broke out in April last year, Sudan had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, according to the UN.

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