Full Breakdown
Port Sudan’s Water Crisis Deepens Amid War and Dam Collapse
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
Core Crisis
Families in Port Sudan are forced to spend a large share of their income on water. A typical household pays 10,000 Sudanese pounds per day for water deliveries, an amount that equals the family’s monthly salary. Vendors charge 1,000 pounds for 18 litres, while larger tanker deliveries cost up to 1.5 million pounds for 50,000 litres. The city’s piped network remains non-functional, leaving residents dependent on costly truck-borne supplies.
Watch
Related reporting
brightcove
Port Sudan families can barely afford water as shortages persist
02
Background & Context
The shortage follows Sudan’s war that began in April 2023, which displaced large numbers of people into Port Sudan and strained already fragile services. In August 2024, heavy rains caused the collapse of the Arbaat Dam, a key source that had supplied roughly half of the city’s daily water. The dam’s failure destroyed downstream villages and damaged pipelines, further reducing municipal supply.
Visual evidence
Images from the story
03
Data & Statistics
- Daily water cost for a household: 10,000 pounds (? $1).
- Vendor price for 18 litres: 1,000 pounds; for 250 litres: 16,000 pounds.
- A 50,000-litre tanker now costs 1.5 million pounds, up from about 450,000 pounds before the war.
- Water-distribution operator Ahmed Osman reports a typical profit of about 70,000 pounds per day.
- The African Development Bank (AfDB) says the city’s water supply meets less than 40 percent of demand.
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s restoration work has added 15 boreholes, 17 km of pipelines and solar-powered pumps, enough to serve an estimated 230,000 people, while the city’s population is about one million.
- An AfDB-UNICEF project launched in June aims to expand safe-water access for up to 750,000 residents.
04
Official Statements & Responses
The African Development Bank (AfDB) identifies safe water as one of Sudan’s most urgent needs, warning that millions of children remain at risk of water-borne disease. UNICEF, partnering with the AfDB, emphasizes the necessity of scaling up infrastructure to reach the majority of the city’s inhabitants. Health officials, including Emad Hafez, medical director of the emergency department at Port Sudan Teaching Hospital, caution that the shortage heightens the risk of cholera, diarrhoeal illnesses, skin infections and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.
05
Health and Economic Impact
The financial burden forces families to prioritize water over other essentials, often resulting in reduced food consumption or borrowing. Limited access to safe water compromises hygiene, increasing the likelihood of disease outbreaks that could further strain the already overstretched health system. The combined effect of high costs, inadequate supply and public-health risks underscores the urgency of expanding reliable water infrastructure in Port Sudan.