Port Sudan families can barely afford water as shortages persist

Despite efforts to restore damaged infrastructure, residents face soaring water costs as war, displacement strain supplies.

Water vendors at a water distribution station in the Deim Mayo neighbourhood of Port Sudan [Fatima Edam/Al Jazeera]

Port Sudan, Sudan – Every day, Amina Khalafallah spends 10,000 Sudanese pounds ($1 at the parallel market rate) on water for herself and her four children. Over a 30-day month, that amounts to 300,000 pounds ($30) – the equivalent of her entire monthly salary.

Khalafallah lives in the Deim Mayo neighbourhood of Port Sudan, in eastern Sudan, where her home is not connected to a piped water network. Instead, she depends on street vendors, who charge 1,000 pounds ($0.10) for 18 litres.

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Khalafallah works in a cafeteria at a private institution, while her husband works in another state and sends money to help her out when he can.

Between them, the family barely scrambles enough money to get by, but Khalafallah says she often has to borrow money. It’s a typical story in Sudan, where, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the country’s more than three-year-long war has pushed average incomes back to levels last seen in the early 1990s.

The hotter months bring additional challenges, as water prices rise and vendors become harder to find.

“We make sure to set aside money for water in the summer before covering our other household needs, even if that means going without some essentials,” Khalafallah told Al Jazeera.

According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), access to safe water is one of Sudan’s most urgent needs, with millions of children at risk of waterborne diseases.

In Port Sudan, relatively safe from the fighting that has plagued other areas of the country, the arrival of people displaced by the war has put additional pressure on already fragile infrastructure. The AfDB has reported that the city’s water supply was meeting less than 40 percent of demand.

One of the major issues Port Sudan has faced is the collapse of the Arbaat Dam. Located in the Red Sea Hills northwest of Port Sudan, it once supplied half of the coastal city’s daily water needs.

But in August 2024, heavy rainfall and flooding caused the dam to collapse, destroying villages downstream and damaging pipelines and wells.

As a result of the collapse , entire neighbourhoods are dependent on expensive water deliveries by truck.

A donkey-drawn cart, locally known as a ‘karo’ or ‘saqqa’, used to transport water in Sudan. Each cart carries about 250 litres [Fatima Edam/Al Jazeera]

Rising costs for water vendors

Ahmed Osman, 30, has spent the past three years working at a water distribution station that supplies street vendors who deliver water to households.

When Sudan’s war began in April 2023, Osman said he charged vendors 4,000 Sudanese pounds ($0.40) to fill a donkey-drawn cart carrying at least 250 litres of water.

Those prices have since risen sharply, he said, because of increasing operating costs, particularly the fuel needed to transport water to his distribution station.

“A water tanker carrying 50,000 litres of water now costs 1.5 million Sudanese pounds [$150], compared with about 450,000 pounds before the war,” Osman told Al Jazeera.

Osman keeps the water in storage tanks before pumping it into the vendors’ carts. He charges 16,000 pounds ($1.60) to fill a cart carrying 250 litres.

After his expenses, Osman typically makes a profit of about 70,000 pounds ($7) per day, split between him and his partner.

Ahmed Osman works at a water distribution station supplying street vendors in the Deim Mayo neighbourhood of Port Sudan [Fatima Edam/Al Jazeera]

Repairs yet to end water shortages

Rehabilitation work has restored parts of the damaged water network.

According to the UNDP, the restoration work has included drilling or rehabilitating 15 boreholes, laying 17 kilometres (10.5 miles) of new pipelines, as well as installing solar-powered pumps.

The UNDP said the restored system could supply water to nearly 230,000 people.

However, that would still not be enough to supply water to all of Port Sudan, which the UNDP estimates to now have a population of one million people.

Other projects are therefore necessary to meet the water needs of residents – including one launched in June by the AfDB and UNICEF, which intends to expand access to safe water for up to 750,000 people in the city.

Water shortages threaten public health

Emad Hafez, medical director of the emergency department at Port Sudan Teaching Hospital, told Al Jazeera the water crisis poses serious risks to public health, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases and making it harder for families to maintain basic hygiene.

He warned that disruptions to water supplies can force families to rely on untreated water, increasing the risk of cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases, particularly during the rainy season and in overcrowded displacement camps.

“Water shortages can also make it harder for families to maintain adequate hygiene, increasing the risk of skin infections and other hygiene-related illnesses,” Hafez said. “Meanwhile, storing water in uncovered containers can create breeding sites for mosquitoes, raising the risk of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.”

Water shortages also threaten healthcare services, Hafez said, explaining that hospitals require reliable supplies for infection prevention, cleaning and patient care.

“Beyond its immediate health consequences, water insecurity can worsen food shortages and malnutrition by disrupting agricultural activities and placing additional financial pressure on already vulnerable households,” he said. “Children under five and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of inadequate nutrition.”

尽管各方努力修复受损的基础设施，但由于战争和流离失所导致的供水紧张，居民们仍然面临着水费飙升的问题。

在苏丹港迪姆马约社区的一个供水站，卖水的小贩们正在售水。[法蒂玛·埃达姆/半岛电视台]

苏丹港，苏丹——阿米娜·哈拉法拉每天要花1万苏丹镑（按黑市汇率约合1美元）买水，供自己和四个孩子使用。一个月下来，这笔开销高达30万苏丹镑（约合30美元），相当于她一个月的全部工资。

哈拉法拉住在苏丹东部的苏丹港市德伊姆马约区，她家没有接入自来水系统。她只能依靠街头小贩，18升水要价1000苏丹镑（约合0.1美元）。

苏丹快速支援部队三名指挥官中的第一位叛逃者，他们脱离了赫梅蒂的部队。

问题 2（共 3 题）：全球码头工人罢工能为加沙带来什么？

苏丹调查地图中的第3张（共3张）显示，与战时强奸有关的指挥官与苏丹的调查地图有关

Khalafallah 在一家私立机构的食堂工作，而她的丈夫在另一个州工作，并尽可能地寄钱来帮助她。

一家人勉强糊口，但哈拉法拉说她经常不得不借钱。这在苏丹是一个典型的故事。据联合国开发计划署（UNDP）称，该国长达三年多的战争已使平均收入回落到上世纪90年代初的水平。

天气炎热的月份会带来更多挑战，因为水价上涨，卖水的也越来越难找。

“我们确保在夏天先预留出水费，然后再满足其他家庭需求，即使这意味着要放弃一些必需品，”哈拉法拉告诉半岛电视台。

根据非洲开发银行（非行）的说法，获得安全饮用水是苏丹最迫切的需求之一，数百万儿童面临水传播疾病的风险。

在相对远离战火蹂躏的苏丹港，尽管其他地区饱受战火蹂躏，但大量流离失所者的涌入也给本已脆弱的基础设施带来了更大的压力。非洲开发银行报告称，该市的供水量不足需求的40%。

苏丹港面临的主要问题之一是阿尔巴特大坝的坍塌。该大坝位于苏丹港西北部的红海山脉，曾经满足这座沿海城市一半的日常用水需求。

但在 2024 年 8 月，暴雨和洪水导致大坝坍塌，摧毁了下游村庄，并损坏了管道和水井。

由于管道坍塌，整个社区都依赖于昂贵的卡车送水服务。

驴拉车，当地人称为“karo”或“saqqa”，在苏丹用来运水。每辆手推车约载有 250 升 [Fatima Edam/半岛电视台]

水供应商成本上涨

30岁的艾哈迈德·奥斯曼在过去的三年里一直在一个供水站工作，该供水站为街头小贩供水，这些小贩再将水送到居民家中。

奥斯曼说，苏丹战争于 2023 年 4 月爆发时，他向商贩收取 4000 苏丹镑（0.40 美元）来装满一辆驴车，车上至少可以装 250 升水。

他表示，由于运营成本不断上涨，特别是将水运送到他的配水站所需的燃料成本不断上涨，这些价格此后大幅上涨。

奥斯曼告诉半岛电视台：“现在一辆载有 5 万升水的运水车要花费 150 万苏丹镑（约合 150 美元），而战前大约只需 45 万苏丹镑。”

奥斯曼先将水储存在储水罐中，然后再用泵将其泵入商贩的手推车。他灌满一辆可装250升水的手推车收费16000英镑（1.60美元）。

扣除开支后，奥斯曼通常每天能赚到大约 7 万英镑（7 美元），这笔钱由他和他的合伙人平分。

艾哈迈德·奥斯曼在苏丹港迪姆马约社区的一个供水站工作，为街头小贩供水。[法蒂玛·埃达姆/半岛电视台]

修复工作尚未结束缺水问题

修复工作已经恢复了部分受损的供水管网。

据联合国开发计划署称，修复工作包括钻探或修复 15 个钻孔，铺设 17 公里（10.5 英里）的新管道，以及安装太阳能水泵。

联合国开发计划署表示，修复后的供水系统可为近 23 万人供水。

然而，这仍然不足以向苏丹港的所有居民供水，据联合国开发计划署估计，苏丹港目前人口为一百万。

因此，还需要其他项目来满足居民的用水需求——其中包括非洲开发银行和联合国儿童基金会于 6 月启动的一个项目，该项目旨在扩大该市多达 75 万人获得安全饮用水的途径。

水资源短缺威胁公众健康

苏丹港教学医院急诊科主任埃马德·哈菲兹告诉半岛电视台，水危机对公众健康构成严重威胁，增加了水传播疾病的风险，并使家庭更难保持基本卫生。

他警告说，供水中断可能迫使家庭依赖未经处理的水，从而增加霍乱和其他腹泻疾病的风险，尤其是在雨季和过度拥挤的流离失所者营地。

哈菲兹说：“缺水还会使家庭更难保持良好的卫生习惯，增加皮肤感染和其他与卫生相关的疾病的风险。同时，将水储存在未加盖的容器中会滋生蚊子，增加疟疾和登革热等虫媒疾病的风险。”

哈菲兹表示，缺水也会威胁医疗保健服务，他解释说，医院需要可靠的物资供应来进行感染预防、清洁和病人护理。

他说：“除了直接的健康后果外，缺水还会扰乱农业活动，给本已脆弱的家庭带来额外的经济压力，从而加剧粮食短缺和营养不良。五岁以下儿童和孕妇尤其容易受到营养不良的影响。”