World · 5 d ago
Bertramz · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Port Sudan families can barely afford water as shortages persist
Her monthly water bill, equal to her pay
US$30 a month
Amina Khalafallah buys water for herself and her four children at 10,000 Sudanese pounds a day, about US$30 a month, as much as her entire salary.
Water supply in Port Sudan has met less than 40 per cent of demand, according to the African Development Bank. The Arbaat Dam, which supplied half the city's daily water, collapsed in Aug 2024, and people displaced by the war have added pressure.
Before the war
450,000 pounds
Now
1.5 million pounds
A 50,000-litre water tanker now costs 1.5 million Sudanese pounds, up from about 450,000 before the war, a distribution worker says.
What's next
Repairs backed by the UN Development Programme can supply nearly 230,000 people, but Port Sudan has about one million residents. A project launched in June aims to bring safe water to up to 750,000 people.
