Maternal & newborn health · Sudan

Light for Mothers and Midwives in Sudan

Together with UNFPA, Unite to Light is sending 500 solar lanterns to midwives and 10,000 solar lights to new mothers and young girls in Sudan.

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Photo: UNFPA Sudan

500solar lanterns for midwives
10,000solar lights for mothers & girls
$125,000goal by December 31
The need

805,000 pregnant women in Sudan need care

A woman in white stands among the wreckage of a damaged hospital in Sudan
A damaged hospital in Sudan. Photo: UNFPA Sudan

Since war broke out in April 2023, attacks on power plants, substations and transmission lines have left communities across Sudan with little or no reliable electricity. Just 21% of the country’s emergency obstetric and newborn care network is fully functional.

Without reliable power or adequate lighting, medical teams deliver babies in the dark. Women and girls name poor lighting as a severe safety risk, including when they go out to use a latrine at night.

A midwife can care for hundreds of women each year, and a solar lantern lets her deliver babies safely through the night. A solar light helps a new mother care for her baby after dark, and lets a young girl study, move around and get home safely.

Figures: UNFPA Sudan Situation Report, July 2026.

Watch

A conversation with UNFPA Sudan

Unite to Light CEO Megan Birney Rudert and Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA Representative for Sudan, on safe motherhood in crisis and what light makes possible after dark. Recorded October 20, 2026.

Give a light

$50 gives a midwife a solar lantern

$10 gives a new mother or young girl a solar light for nights at home and safe walks after dark. Choose an amount below.

$125,000 by December 31Gifts support our Sudan work with UNFPA. Funds raised beyond the goal will support Unite to Light’s work wherever light is needed most.

Our partner

Working with UNFPA

Unite to Light is part of the UNFPA Safe Birth, Even Here campaign, a United Nations Population Fund effort to end maternal deaths in areas affected by humanitarian crisis or fragile situations.

In Sudan, UNFPA deploys qualified humanitarian midwives to underserved communities, displacement camps and areas of return, where they provide maternal care, support safe deliveries and offer family planning. In September 2026, UNFPA provided maternal and reproductive health services across 52 localities in 17 states, including 13,230 births with a skilled attendant.

Figures: UNFPA Sudan Situation Report, September 2026.

We plan to manufacture and ship the lanterns and lights in January 2027, together with UNFPA, which will lead distribution to midwives, new mothers and girls in Sudan.

From Sudan

Daily life in Sudan

A mother with a baby on her back loads a donkey while a young child sits on top, in rural Sudan
A mother and her children with their donkey. Photo: UNFPA Sudan
Two women walk between straw shelters in Sudan while small children sit in the shade
Straw shelters in Sudan. Photo: UNFPA Sudan
Two women carry another woman toward a clinic building in Sudan
Arriving at a clinic. Photo: UNFPA Sudan

Help a midwife in Sudan deliver babies safely through the night

Your gift sends solar light to the midwives, new mothers and young girls of Sudan.

Give a light