The UN Secretary-General has appealed for the military rivals in Sudan to lay down their arms for at least three days so that people trapped in their homes can get desperately needed food, supplies and medical help. 

Six days of fighting have been extremely devastating for civilians, including thousands of pregnant women now cut off from care, or hospitals where they can safely deliver their babies. 

The UN’s reproductive health agency, UNFPA, estimates that there are at least 219,000 mothers-to-be in the capital, Khartoum, alone. 

UNFPA Regional Director Laila Baker spoke to UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki about how staff there – who are mostly Sudanese nationals – are supporting expectant mothers amidst the crossfire and frustrated hopes of a ceasefire.