Residents of several Sudanese cities, including Khartoum, Omdurman, and Port Sudan, are facing severe water shortages. The bloody war between rival generals, exacerbated by climate change, has plunged the country into a deep water crisis.
"Since the beginning of the war in April 2023, two of my children walk 14 kilometers a day to fetch water," says Issa, a father from the Sortoni displacement camp, which houses more than 65,000 people in North Darfur. The residents of Al Thawrah in Omdurman haven't had water for 17 days, explains Mohamed Adam. These situations are not isolated. In the village of Shaqra, displaced people wait in line for 300 meters to get potable water, reports Adam Rijal, spokesperson for the Darfur displaced people.
The conflict has ravaged infrastructure, and the departure of diplomats and humanitarian workers has worsened the situation. In Sortoni, the Italian humanitarian organization responsible for the camp's water stations left at the start of the conflict, leaving the residents without access to water. The Horn of Africa, affected by recurring droughts and torrential rains, sees its overexploited groundwater becoming increasingly scarce. In 2023, heavy rains followed by floods affected 89,000 people, according to the UN. The lack of rainwater storage solutions prevents their use, making the situation even more precarious.
Al-Fasher, a city in Darfur with 1.5 million inhabitants, has suffered from deadly fighting and a suffocating siege since May. If the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) do not allow the entry of fuel, the water stations stop functioning. Khartoum, under RSF control, sees entire neighborhoods deprived of drinking water. In Omdurman, a power outage also led to the shutdown of water stations.
Residents turn to costly and unreliable alternatives. "For the past 17 days, water has cost us 6,000 Sudanese pounds (4.60 euros) daily," says Adam Hassan from Omdurman. In Khartoum, residents buy untreated water transported by cart to quench their thirst and for washing.
The Crisis Worsens
Even areas spared by the fighting, such as Port Sudan, are not spared. "Water is a big problem," says Al-Sadek Hussein, a resident of Port Sudan. With summer approaching, the situation is only getting worse.
Sudan, already weakened by decades of conflict and mismanagement, is now facing a major water crisis. The lack of potable water has become a humanitarian emergency, affecting millions of lives daily.
