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 supply
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.
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.
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.