A Mother's Heartbreaking Choice in War-Torn Sudan

Mon Oct 20 2025 22:57:20 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In the midst of Sudan's civil war, a mother faces an agonizing decision as she tries to save her twin daughters. With limited resources and a humanitarian crisis unfolding, this emotional story reflects the struggles of countless families affected by the conflict.

As the civil war in Sudan ravages the country, Touma, a desperate mother, confronts the heart-wrenching reality of choosing treatment for only one of her twin daughters. This tragedy represents the grim choices many families face in a region overwhelmed by malnutrition and violence. The story shines a light on the pervasive humanitarian crisis affecting millions in Sudan.

Warning: This piece contains details that some readers may find distressing.

Touma hasn't eaten in days, sitting in a hospital ward, her eyes glassy with worry as she holds her severely malnourished three-year-old daughter, Masajed. 'I wish she would cry,' Touma shares, her daughter's silence haunting her.

Bashaer Hospital, one of the few still operational in Khartoum amidst ongoing conflict, is overwhelmed. The malnutrition ward is filled with weak children and helpless parents. Many, like Touma, have fled fighting, losing everything but their lives.

Now she faces an impossible choice: buying medicine for only one of her twin daughters, Masajed or Manahil. In a gut-wrenching decision, she chooses Manahil, hoping to save at least one.

Struggling families in Sudan are accounted among those enduring one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with three million children under the age of five acutely malnourished, according to the UN. Life-sustaining treatments often require families to pay out of pocket, an impossible burden when they've fled with nothing.

Touma reflects on her past, where once there was laughter and plenty, and now despair echoes in the hospital rooms. As she hold her daughter close, she expresses her deepest wish: 'I want them both to get better.'

Survival rates in these wards are grim, and as we leave the hospital, the heartache is palpable; many of the children will not make it. The civil war continues to rewrite fragile lives, leaving lasting scars across Khartoum and beyond.