Since the beginning of the ongoing war, two years ago, disability and poverty in Sudan have increased while life conditions and healthcare access have diminished. More than 13 million people are displaced internally or to neighboring countries, representing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

After 21 months of fighting, the terrorist militia known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced more than 11.5 million. Most of them internally, 3.3 million to neighboring countries including Egypt, Chad and South Sudan. The displaced Sudanese live in horrible conditions in camps, they lack proper supplies and 25.6  million are food insecure. Doctors Without Borders estimated in February 2024 that 13 children died from starvation every single day. 

On top of living in dire circumstances, the Sudanese are exposed to constant bombings, sexual violence and ethnic cleansing. The American secretary of state, Anthony J. Blinken, has described the RSF’s actions as genocidal. Here is information about disability and poverty in Sudan and efforts to address it.

Disability in Sudan

The Swedish International Corporation Agency estimated that there are 1.9 to 3.8 million disabled people in Sudan, representing 10-15% of the total population. This estimate considers the under reporting of untreated patients. The most common disabilities are blindness at 31% and mental disability at 24%.

While some of these disabilities are hereditary, a large number of impairments have risen throughout the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Injuries from bullets, artillery and bombs have led to severe physical harm such as burns and fractures, sometimes resulting in lifelong injuries like amputations.

Health Care Access

Armed conflict and poverty play a big role in health care access. Before the war, only 50% of people who managed to reach a health facility were offered proper treatment, the weakened health system puts 8 million of children in dire condition at risk as 78,000 babies die every year from preventable causes like malaria.

This access is even more limited to people with disabilities. In 2015, a research studying health care access across Sudan, Namibia, Malawi and South Africa showed that 8.18% of people with no activity limitation had problems accessing health care, while the percentage of people with some or severe activity limitations who lack health care access was 12.24% and 12.10% per month.

The lack of access to health care has only worsened since the beginning of the RSF attacks in April 2023. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 108 attacks on health care facilities by September 2024, the percentage of facilities and public hospitals partially or totally dysfunctional is 70-80% in areas worst affected by the crisis and 45% in other parts of the country, leaving millions of people helpless.

Poverty in Sudan

The 2014 Multidimensional Poverty Index estimates of Sudan indicated that 52.3% of the Sudanese population is multidimensionally poor and 17.7% are vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. These figures are in constant increase, total poverty rates rose to 80% in 2018 and to 97% in 2020.

Due to the ongoing conflict, living conditions have deteriorated and a great number of the population have lost shelter and income. A study compared the decrease of resources between 2021 (before the conflict) and 2023 (during the conflict), it expected the poverty rate to increase by 4.5%, affecting 39.3 million Sudanese. It estimated that the war led to the loss of $15 billion of Sudan’s economy by the end of 2023 which is equivalent to 48% of Sudan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is due to the attack on states that produce sectoral goods as well as the loss of jobs in industry, services and agriculture which amount to 5.2 million jobs lost, representing almost half of the Sudanese workforce.

Though the damage is on a national scale, disabled people struggle more, they are in constant need of food and welfare supplies. Before the conflict, they received financial support from non disabled people through religious donations known as zakat, but the war led to the collapse of the zakat system and begging at the local market is now the main source of income for the disabled Sudanese in Darfur. They are reliant on family members who at times of crises might  leave them behind in a desperate pursuit of safety.

Efforts and Solutions

Many efforts have emerged to diminish disability and poverty in Sudan, whether domestically or internationally. The UNICEF Sudan social protection programme, which is in the eastern states where the malnutrition rates are higher, is directly supporting 300,000 beneficiaries through monetary, informational and care provisions to mothers from the conception of their babies to two years after their birth. This has proven to reduce maternal mortality, infant mortality and malnutrition.

Meanwhile, in November 2023 and with the support of UNICEF, the Federal Ministry of Education launched the National Strategy on education of children with disabilities from 2013-2016, followed by the first National Council on education of children with disabilities with the support of UNESCO, UNICEF and Plan international. The strategy aimed to integrate a holistic model to cater to the educational, social, health and protection needs of disabled children as well as safeguarding their rights.

Nayla Prosthetics, a Sudan Disability Movement, launched before the war, which has provided prosthetic and financial support to people with mycetoma, a chronic infection caused by fungi and bacteria mainly affecting farmers. Thanks to this initiative, the beneficiaries have regained mobility which promoted their recovery and job availability.

The team designed a prosthetic capable of reading electrical signals from the amputee and reacting to them with movements. It features a simplified design, a wrist rotation and sensory feedback so that the amputee feels when they touch it and all of this is available for less than $1,000. Thanks to grants and donations, the organization only keeps growing. 

Looking Ahead

Access to the bare necessities of life was already a challenge for most Sudanese, the current war has only accentuated their struggle. Disability and poverty in Sudan is at an all time high and millions of people are vulnerable to starvation, untreated wounds and incessant violence.

– Yasmine Belabed

Yasmine is based in Algeria and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pexels