Conflict · Archive60 Beds for 40,000: Sudan War Overwhelms CAR Border HospitalAired August 8, 2026 at 12:34 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00On the Central African Republic's0:01northern border with Sudan,0:03>> [music]0:03>> the hospital in B A has only 60 beds for0:05a local and refugee population of nearly0:0840,000 people, according to Bel True0:10reporting [music] for The Independent.0:11And the hospital chief said they can0:13barely cope with the influx of refugees.0:15[music] The scale is a border facility0:17built for a sparse town now carrying a0:19population the size of a small city.0:21With 60 beds covering close to 40,0000:23people who depend on that [music] single0:25ward. The Central African Republic0:27already had one of the highest maternal0:29mortality rates world [music] and was0:30dealing with internal conflict when war0:32erupted in Sudan in 2023, [music]0:35according to The Independent. Since that0:37war, the number of pregnant women0:38needing services at the hospital in B A0:40has more than tripled.0:42At the same moment, [music] aid cuts0:44stripped the capacity to absorb them.0:46All the midwives were let go, [music]0:48leaving Assistant to the Line to manage0:49all consultations alone. And at Barou's0:52refugee camp,0:53>> [music]0:53>> UN mobile maternity clinics were0:55dismantled when funding was cut.0:57Displacement that began in 2023 has not0:59reversed, but [music] points of care1:01that could have diverted patients away1:03from B A were removed just as demand1:05surged. Bassena and her family fled1:07Darfur [music] 3 years ago on donkeys,1:09and she said armed groups murdered her1:11husband and attempted to rape the women,1:13according to Bassena via the report.1:15[music] Amna, a Sudanese refugee, lost1:17her baby at 9 months and nearly bled to1:19death. Both [music] cases trace the same1:21line from violence during flight to a1:22maternity system without staff or mobile1:24clinics to absorb the surge. [music] The1:26contradiction is that needs tripled as1:28care points were removed. A border1:30hospital with 60 beds now funnels1:32deliveries for nearly [music] 40,0001:33people with no midwives and no UN mobile1:36clinics at Barou to ease the load.1:37[music] And what remains unresolved is1:39whether funding and staffing will be1:41restored to match a displacement [music]1:42that started in 2023, or whether1:44deliveries will continue through an1:45overstretched hospital already at its1:47limit.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗